Resident Evil: In the Blood
by VixenVampirechick
Summary: Alice makes it her priority to protect Carlos, Jill, Angie and LJ from Umbrella...can she protect them from herself? And what other trick does Umbrella have up their sleeves for Alice?
1. The Madness of Dr Isaacs

"Activate Program Alice."

With a glee-filled maddened smile, he watched the silver SUV pull away from the monitor.

The lab was in shambles, injured men and women, some dead. Dr. Issacs was amazed with the amount of damage their precious subject had done, and then disgust crossed him hearing the groans of an injured employee. Not dead. 

All of them should have been dead, how was there still the weakness of a human heart within Program Alice after all of the hours spent trying to perfect her? Clearly there were still some bugs to work out, some more genes to take apart and splice together, he would make sure to put to sleep that humanity for good…

"Sir… 

He wasn't listening, not really, still he heard Mrs. Harper, once more, this time a bit more clearly.

"Sir…about the experiment."

This time the head doctor stood, wiping the blood from his mouth and face carelessly with the back of his hand, then faced the persistent scientist.

Unmindful of the bodies littering the lab and the easy demeanor of the doctor, the young blonde scientist spoke again as though used to seeing death and destruction within her time working at Umbrella: "Sir the subject, that escaped, Program Alice, do you wish for a team to be sent to retrieve her? It would seem she is resisting her primary programming," the scientist asked.

He quickly decided he would not send anymore of their short supply of mercenaries on a task in which he knew already the results, those being none of the team would be returning alive, he couldn't have that…yet. He was still in need of them.

"No we will deal with Alice later," he said calmly. "However what you can do is report to me how the newest subjects are progressing."

"Quite well Dr., the cells of all three subjects, despite massive damage and deterioration were repairable, for the most part, however, further testing will need to be done for field of vision and hearing factors that may have been too heavily damaged by the "T" virus," she said flipping through the charts of her clipboard. "All were infected with the "T" virus within the same time span and cellular repair was expected at the same spontaneous rate. Two of the subjects are still at a lethargic brain wave pattern, there is but one who is strong enough to be wakened at present."

"Show me," the doctor instructed stepping over the bodies of the men upon the lab floor. He noticed a young woman about the age of nineteen staring at one of the dead scientists with blue eyes as wide as saucers. She sat trembling in shock at the destruction in the corner of the lab, curled under a desk. "You, have someone clean this mess up."

Getting a hold of herself the young red-haired woman nodded, swallowing and coming out from under the desk and picking up the phone with trembling hands did as she was ordered.

The docter and Mrs. Harper headed along the darkest corridor where Alice had been less than ten minutes before, instead of heading straight out the two made a left near an towering steel door. Upon punching into the system, they entered.

A warm breeze hit them and they continued inside.

Various human beings floated serenely, slumbering in the same kind of liquid cocoon as the escaped subject. In the large oval room, there were at least twelve subjects within the life-giving tanks soon to be awakened but for now they turned to the right to peer into the tank marked SUBJECT 9#.

"This one here?" the head scientist asked peering at the being inside.

The serious blonde nodded firmly before scribbling more notes upon her chart.

"Another woman, first to recover…" he couldn't help but muse.

"An Umbrella mercenary, part of One's team sent into the Hive. From the bite marks on her neck, left hand, bicep and forearm and the blood and tissue samples collected she was infected massively," the young docter paused to flip a page and her blue eyes scanned it briefly.

Curled much like a fetus in it's mother's womb the subject had a look of peace in her cryogenetic sleep. Her long raven hair dancing in the water was the only movement from her.

She was slender like Alice, but in a much stronger looking solid way. He was itching to know if she would be stronger than Alice too.

"Combat search and rescue specialist. Rain Ocampo. 5'8", 127 lbs. Age: Twenty-three years old. Found dead on the train."

So…Alice was resisting her programming, remarkable, truly remarkable as was the way Nemesis had too resisted his own. She would need to be retrieved then, by someone more than capable…

"Wake her."


	2. The Prospero Mansion

"Are you alright?" Angie's softly inquired.

She wanted to say yes, she wanted to smile and sit back rest assured everything was okay however…

Her head was throbbing and a shrill ringing was making her eardrums ache as though someone had implanted an enormous whistling teapot in her head.

_Kill them, kill them…_

Alice suppressed a whimper of pain as the pressure in her head increased and she fought to keep herself still as her hand had a mind of it's own and was eagerly creeping towards Jill's handgun.

"I'm fine, just tired sweetie," Alice willed herself to say.

Angie smiled awkwardly sensing something a miss but said nothing.

"Anyone know where we're going?" Jill asked.

Alice allowed herself to drift away into her thoughts of the last few days.

Only days ago she had lost them all. Failed miserably.

She shuddered to think of Matt, poor, poor Matt. Turned into that hideous monster, Nemesis. Matt, she had tried so desperately to save.

Alice blinked back tears, remembering the fright in the otherwise fearless Rain's eyes, clouding with fatigue and sickness. She had been so helpless, needing someone to save her. Rain had sensed the end though despite all efforts she seemed prepared for it; Alice had seen it in her eyes.

Jill leaned against the car's window letting out a sigh of frustration. No doubt she wished desperately for a cigarette. "It won't be long before they're on us."

"Stop."

The SUV halted in the middle of the wooded road. Jill turned to face Alice.

The blue-eyed warrior looked about through the windows of the car, they seemed surrounded by masses of trees and a long stretch of a strangely empty mountain highway.

"What?" L.J. asked impatiently.

Carlos responded to the silence and Jill's wariness by withdrawing his silver magnum to have at the ready.

"It's alright," Alice said finally to ease their discomfort. "Turn left into the trees."

L.J. obeyed leaving the main road and they broke through the forest, surprised to come upon a dirt road the path leading into another thicket of tree and the roughened road caused the car to wobble a bit before they were once again on a smoother path, the crackling sound of dry leaves and dirt steady.

After about twenty minutes of driving, they came upon a large estate easily the size of the Umbrella mansion. The house was surrounded by an iron-wrought fence, the estate looked welcoming and yet all were uneasily clearly.

It was Angie who looked terrified from the mansion to Alice and the car stopped a few feet from the gate.

"I bought this place two years ago through a private real estate owner in case Spence and—" Alice paused feeling the anger boil at the accidental mention of Spence but correctly herself quickly. "In case _I_ was exposed and ever needing to hide out from Umbrella."

"It's a good thing we stumbled upon it," Jill said.

Her tone caused Alice to turn in question of it.

Seemed Jill had found a cigarette, worn and flimsy, the ex-cop didn't seem to care as she anxiously pulled it from the side of her boot. She looked over at Angie and settled for allowing it to rest in her fingers.

_Second-hand smoke, the number one killer in America_, she recalled mentally.

Then she addressed Alice's stare. "You know call me crazy but I'm just not too gun-ho on going into deserted houses too much nowadays," Jill was unable to keep the biting sarcasm from her voice, knowing lack of it would unmask her fear. "Especially deserted houses bought with Umbrella's money."

Alice fought the anger rising in her, fought the devil that whispered into her ear of the wonderful peace disposing of the ever-questioning S.T.A.R.S. member would give her.

Everyone else watched this exchange quietly. It was not a secret that there was ever a constant power struggle between the two women. While Jill was cocky and ever the natural leader, Alice was the stronger and by far the best mentally adapted for protecting them and she had the advantage of knowing a lot about Umbrella.

"It was bought with _my_ money and an alias, they don't even know it's here," Alice said as calmly and as patiently as she could muster. She then reached over the back seat pulling from it an enormous rifle.

Jill knew that Alice should lead and was best to lead, but still this whole ordeal made that instinct to trust only herself all the more harder to ignore. To say Jill was having a hard time taking the backseat in authority was an understatement.

Alice didn't wait for further argument, without hesitation opened the car's door, and after climbing out turned to the rest of the group. "I don't know everything, but I do know for the time being, your best bet is here, with me." She looked each of them in the eyes, knowing of their inner conflict. "Listen to me," she said quietly but with undeniable authority. "These mountains, this forest is massive, so massive Umbrella has access to a sixth of it, but the only exit out is guarded, guarded by them. Now they're on alert looking for me." She reloaded the chamber of gun with a hard click. "Looking for you, you, you and definitely you." She looked from, L.J. to Olivera to Angela, to Jill. "Survivors of Raccoon City, ex-Umbrella mercenaries, relations to Umbrella members and especially S.T.A.R.S. members, anyone who could expose them, there's a high price on your heads. If you're caught…you'll be lucky if you end up dead, most likely you'll be another of their toys to play with."

The tweeting of nearby sparrows made L.J. visibly jump and Alice had to fight not to give a small derisive laugh to prove her point instead she adjusted the strap of her M5 casually without looking up at the birds flitting past her.

"If you think you're better off alone you can take the car and go, everyone else come with me."

Without hesitation, Carlos and L.J. exited the car with Angie following closely behind flashing Jill a pleading look. With a heavy sigh, Jill irritably tossed her cigarette to the ground and followed suit.


	3. Rebirth Nightmares

* * *

The roaring of water almost like a toilet flushing awakened her. Her eyes snapped open and darted about frenetically.

Where…? What…?

She found herself lying within a slick tank-like chamber. Her tanned limbs were quivering and the blast of cold that blew into the chamber on her naked skin only increased her reaction to the icy temperatures.

She began to cough, heaving violently small traces of a strange blue fluid. She didn't have time to wonder at the substance, or do anything but lie there listening to herself struggle to draw breath in her lungs and stop whimpering from the painful throbbing in her limbs that felt boneless.

Footsteps all around her, strange people in white lab coats speaking in hushed tones and crowding round her.

A man about the age of forty, with a distinctly stern face stared into her eyes. "Rain… Rain, can you hear me?"

Rain?

A pain like a hammer struck her head and a bright image of a eyeless, mess of flesh and membranes opened it's mouth of long yellow teeth, snaking out a ten foot long tongue…

"Rain?"

Another pain struck her and people were screaming, there were sounds of gunshots blaring through her brain. A woman with short strawberry blonde hair and earnest blue eyes was shouting, her words muted.

"My—I—ne…?" she managed to murmur.

"That's your name," the stern faced doctor said quietly. "Your name is Rain."

Rain peered curiously at the doctor, her eyebrows creased in confusion.

Another scientist, this one a short blonde haired-male knelt down addressing the doctor, "Sir her memory is diminutive at best however spontaneous recovery could occur as with Al—

The doctor turned away from Rain to quickly cut off the scientist's words. "She's not going anywhere, her groggy state will last another six hours at the least, she is no threat at the present time. Relax." He looked back at Rain hearing her dry retching.

Two research assistances came forward covering the young woman to calm her shivering and shield her exposed form.

She was lifted into the arms of another scientist and her head began to reel, spinning, everything was spinning, she felt her stomach muscles tighten and the need to vomit took her again but all she could do was lie limply in the arms of one of the strange men hoping she would just die.

The head doctor lifted her chin, squeezing her jaw with two fingers to force her mouth open and listen to her breathe, he withdrew his stethoscope and lightly pressed it to the subject's chest.

"Miraculous," the mad doctor remarked watching the labored rise and fall of Rain's chest.

All around her poking and prodding her, all of these strangers…

And all of these images…flickering, shifting, racing through her, like a movie stuck on fast-forward. Some contained her, some didn't. All were unfamiliar but some were constantly rewinding as if to jolt understanding, instead she was rewarded with deeper confusion and pain.

"Heart rate increasing, blood pressure

Another nurse came forward examining Rain's trembling fingers. The tips of them pale, almost blue. "Even so she's not getting adequate oxygen. Her lungs will need forty-eight hours to stabilize now that she is off the respirator."

Indeed Rain's breathing was coming in even shorter, rasping breaths… Her heart threatening to burst from constantly crashing against her chest…

More images…

That woman again screaming_, "Rain! Rain!" _Her hair drenched and she shivered hard and in those eyes Rain could see it was not from the cold but fear, her heavily bruised arm reaching, reaching—

A face, oozing…the flesh peeling from the man's temple like cheap paint. White suit blackened with blood hanging from his body, one eye hanging from the socket, pumping sickly yellow pus from the iris, a horrendous moan came from the abscessed and rotting mouth…

"_**AAAAHHHHHH!"**_

The image of the rotting man left her and was replaced by a man about the age of twenty-four and he was grinning despite the sound of screams rolling through her brain. He ran his hands through his short, dark hair, dropping his rifle. _"76 to 62, which proves as I've suspected I'm a better shot than you any day of the week. So pay up."_

The same man, crying her name desperately as he disappeared into the vise-like grips of desperate hands and more rotting men and women…

A sharp stab that had the effect of a well-placedknife jabpenetrated her ribs.

Three men held Rain firmly as the nurse delivered the injection into her side. As the sweet numbness came Rain quieted, only barely registering the screams had not been inside of her brain, she had been the one screaming.

"Okay, she's calming, she's going under…"

Rain felt herself drift off into nothingness.

"Allow her to rest, all tests will be done in 48 hours."


	4. Umbrella's prisoner

In a bleak and darkened room of the Umbrella laboratory…

A sound like a steady, harsh ticking of nails on metal grated through her…

Rain Ocampo lifted her heavy lids to the strange sound.

The light peeking through the lab door flooded the room and a shadow darkened the light's path.

Like wind hissing through a tunnel, a terrifying breath of something horrible made her heart drop into her stomach. Something so familiar and terrible, like every other image that was invading her mind.

Then she saw it, the thing from her dreams, walking on all four of those—

The creature hadn't noticed her yet at all as it lithely crept along like some monstrous inside-out cougar on those—

Legs didn't quite seem the word for them, they were more like bleeding sinewy fillet knifes, the exposed purpled veins of it's limbs coursing with excitement.

Forcing calm to come to her and her drugged limbs to awaken, Rain began to quickly but quietly pull several imbedded needles from her skin, fighting not to scream as her limbs didn't seem to want to obey her.

Something told her very soon she would need her limbs, probably to run most likely.

There was a sharp clang as a broken needle rocketed to the floor, the beast snapped it's head her direction, opening it's serrated and salivating mouth and raced forward—

Rain Ocampo dropped to the floor rolling to the opposite side of the room and standing less than eight feet away from the creature. She was unaware of the speed and grace of her movements, just the luck that she managed to escape even once that creature's claws.

The skinless monster gave an infuriated hiss pulled itself from away from the overturned hospital bed. It was intent not to miss this time.

Her fumbling fingers had found the doorknob as she kept her eyes on the creature.

The lab door was locked and picking it would require that she take her eyes away from the monster for at least ten seconds.

Which was about nine and a half seconds more time than it needed to gut her.

_Fuck!_

With equal furiousness Rain straightened. She had two choices now: run and scream and end up that ugly-ass inside-out cat's dinner or fight.

She then kicked backward ramming her foot into the cold steel of one of the legs of a lab table. The table snapped and the back of Rain's heel caught the broken leg kicking it upward into her hand.

Rain ignored the piece of her that questioned, she wanted to live and her body seemed to know what she was doing even if her mind didn't. She was running on pure instinct now, it didn't matter where it came from, she just knew it would save her.

_Fight first and ask questions later._

It still didn't stop her heart from pounding, even so, the rushing adrenaline was all she was really focused on, it was familiar and almost peaceful.

The anger, the will to live and determination so familiar…she wanted it back, every piece of her that she knew was missing.

"All right you ugly fucker, come get some," she growled smiling nastily.

Peering into lab's security booth, Dr. Isaacs bore witness to the reawakening of Rain Ocampo, the warrior. While the awakening of Rain the vulnerable woman too had been interesting he wondered if the nightmares and forgotten memories would keep her that frightened woman, he had hoped not.

He was confident that instinct was everything and he knew by instinct Ocampo was no defenseless woman and now she was so much more, something truly dangerous, something more deadly than anything they had created thus far.

Even Alice.

"_Speed: 400 miles per hour,"_ the computer reported.

From this same computer, Dr. Isaacs filtered the camera to play back Rain's performance at a speed in which he himself could see.

In a blur, Rain dodged the released experiment taking her makeshift weapon and slamming the sharp edge hard into the creature's spine, it let out a scream and swiped for Ocampo's bare leg. Ocampo countered with a strangely cat-like jump of an impossible ten feet landing with again impossible balance on the blunt end of the impaled table leg driving it to snap the creature's spine.

The fight was over in less than eight seconds.

Rain Ocampo had sustained not a scratch even as she held off the effects of the tranquilizers that had handicapped most of her abilities thus far.

She didn't stop for a moment and then prompted kicked down the two ton door. The computer promptly switched it's view to the lab's corridor. She was heading right towards them naked as could be covered in the creature's blood and her own sweat. She looked very, very angry.

"Dr…" one of the scientists warned.

He didn't reply as in mid-step Rain Ocampo's legs began to buckle and her hand reached to grab ahold of something to stop her fall.

Rain Ocampo was unaware of anything but the sound of her own breathing, rasping so loudly in her ears.

Engraved in the floor was a red and black hexagon that for some reason made the memories come of those rotting people and that creature in the lab and a cold dread seeped into her spine.

"No," she commanded her legs. "Keep moving, keep moving…"

An image flashed within her mind, followed by several others. All these voices overlapping…some of these people were new, some repeated images, some even of herself.

"_Left side Ocampo!"_

"_Rain, evacuate in 0800 hours at--_

"_Need some help with that sweetheart?"_

"_Keep talkin' and I'll be shoving my boots up your ass, J.D."_

Once her adrenaline had slowed the heavy sweet numbness came back to her brain again.

"_Damn it Kaplan, just hold the fuckin' gun steady!"_

There was a man, a bit on the short side with scared but gentle brown eyes and he smiled at her meekly and sadly before tending to what looked like a bite wound on his leg.

Kaplan… Kaplan.

That was his name! Yes! Chad Kaplan.

And that girl…the man…

She managed one more lethargic step before sliding to the floor and closing her eyes.

Before she closed her eyes she noticed her veins violently shuddering and the pain came for only a moment…

"No!"

It was at less ten hours later when Rain woke up and the first thing she did was take in her surroundings. This time she was in a completely white room, bare of everything even furniture. It smelled of chlorine…

It was like a psych ward complete with the mattress floor.

She grunted, trying to free herself and forcing her head up she noticed her wrists bounded together with heavy chains and her ankles shackled together in the same fashion. She was in a strange paper gown.

There again was that same logo this time on the wall, that weird hexagon. This time she knew a name for it.

The Umbrella corporation logo.

The door at the farthest corner of the room opened and Rain tensed then relaxed just a bit and then her body began to tremble, not from fear, not from the cold, from anger.

A man the one that had spoken to her so kindly and gently as though she were a four year old, she now looked on at him with hatred blazing in her eyes. She ignored the other two scientists.

"Well, good morning Miss Ocampo," he greeted removing her gag.

"Take off these chains," Rain answered in a low and ominous tone.

The doctor just smiled making sure to sit but a few feet away from the pissed-off Umbrella mercenary. "I'm afraid I can't do that Miss Ocampo. You have become much too valuable to me. Now let's test that blood of yours…"

When the two female scientists approached Rain with gloved hands she turned with something that closely resembled a growl. "Touch me and I swear I'll remove your fuckin' hearts."

That stopped them in their tracks despite the fact that Rain knew she was harmlessly bound the way she was and there was a fresh needle hole in the crook of her elbow. They had done something to her…again.

"Well I'm afraid that'll be near-impossible. You've been given a muscle-relaxant to control your…wild behavior." Stooping Dr. Isaacs extracted his own needle and syringe and began to prepare it. "You've always been an asset Rain, since One recruited you, I've always had confidence in your abilities. Three years with Umbrella and still only a 1st Ensign, when your abilities prove you to be better than that. Such abilities were never overlooked by the science team."

When he drew closer with the needle Rain grew even more furious but said nothing. When she began to struggle the two scientists held her restraining her to lie on her stomach on the mattress-like floor.

"Being a woman is never easy is it Rain? Especially a woman like you, strong and clever, just as strong and capable as any man."

Without ceremony, he plunged the needle deep into the vein of her arm and Rain made not a sound besides a quickened breath that was probably owed to red-hot fury.

"And soon you'll be just as strong and capable as any man, animal, perhaps even God."

Rain felt all three pairs of hands release her and she managed to roll over on her side and spit out: "Fuck you."

The doctor dared stare evenly into her eyes and smile back with mocking kindness.

But Rain wasn't finished. "What did you do to them?"

"Who?" her enemy blinked rather innocently.

"Matt and Alice you son of a bitch!" she shouted.

Dr. Isaacs was unmoved by her anger, he chose to ignore her outburst, much like a good parent when their child is having a temper-tantrum. "Addison is dead and Ms. Prospero is currently roaming the Arklay mountains." He began swabbing the side of Rain's neck with some sort of medication that felt icy to the touch.

Rain rewarded his efforts with a well-aimed enormous spit wad right in the good doctor's eye.

Satisfaction swelled within Rain at his utterance of disgust and annoyance and she smirked viciously.

It took three more scientists to calm her fury and still her.

"Don't you worry, Ms. Ocampo, the next time you wake you won't remember a thing..."

Twisting her head round, Rain glimpsed the needle. Clearly this wasn' t for another blood draw, a brilliant blue liquid filled the syringe.

The doctor gave it a squeeze for good measure.

"Hold her."


	5. Safe Inside

Author's Note: Yes, yes I know it's been a while but now that's I've gotten back a little bit of time to write I will be giving my faithful fans more. Thank you everyone for your reviews, each one I've read and appreciate so much. Should have another update a week and a half from right now, I'm writing on and off and I owe my Underworld fans a piece of 'The Difference.' Enjoy!

* * *

A hair-raising scream tore through the humid air of the Arklay forest.

Angie gave a start squeezing Jill's hand hard in her surprise. The steady trip-trap of Alice's combat boots on the roughened clay ground halted the group's fearful hesitation and they reluctantly kept moving not wanting to be left more than an inch behind her.

"Just a loon," Alice supplied without turning back.

Why people decided they needed houses as big as airports was always a mystery to Jill, seemed to the ex-cop that owners of mansions this prestigious were often selfish snobs that fed their greed and every whim to boost their feelings of worth.

Stealing a glance at Alice, Valentine wondered if ever this house provided Alice a kind of mask in which she could pretend to just be a rich, trophy-wife snob and not a supporter of Umbrella.

They continued up the dirt path and the incline steadily grew sharper and more rugged, much too rugged and steep to drive up to the house so the SUV had been parked downhill near the carport. Jill let out a long exhale of air fighting the drowsy enticement of the heat, it was no less warm here than in Raccoon City during it's final days. In fact it was blazing even hotter…

She didn't protest aloud however as the others were easily in worse shape. Their strawberry blonde leader in a short maroon skirt and long sleeved clinging black crew neck t-shirt and poor Angie in a pair of black leggings and a red sweater, L.J. and Carlos in heavy gray t-shirts and blue jeans.

They had clean clothes at least and little food stolen from an abandoned store after the helicopter crash. They had been lucky to come upon a rusted gas pump, that was still operable, and neighboring the pump a few stores. A tipped yogurt stand, a pharmacy and convenience store all showed obvious signs of being abandoned in a hurry, Jill knew why.

When another ripple of heat hit her skin Jill crossly decided she'd rather be naked and bathing in a tub of ice cubes.

They finally made it to the stone steps of the front double doors. A keypad on the right side of the home was alight and the words: WELCOME…PLEASE ENTER YOUR PASSCODE… inched across the screen.

None of the others saw Alice's fingers dance across the pad but heard the bright click of the machine to confirm the lock had been released, a reminder of Alice's incredible superhuman abilities that gave the group the assurance they needed.

The double door groaned slightly as they stepped inside and everyone gave a sigh of relief, the temperature inside the house so much cooler. What greeted them was an elegant hall of gray and white marble floors coated in blankets of dust, a hanging chandelier so spectacular and showy it seemed stolen from a Broadway production of _'The Phantom of the Opera'_ covered in cobwebs posed directly at the heel of the marvelous spiraling grand staircase, the steps lined in royal blue carpeting. At the top of the grand staircase the carved mahogany of the banister lined the second floor for overlooking persons, to the left and right where more rooms were obviously located. A dust-coated glass table sat on the right side of the foot of the stair a dead rose in slender-necked vase looked as though one touch would reduce it to ashes. To the left were three doors, to the right one open entry that seemed to be some sort of kitchen and three closed doors following it.

The double doors clicked loudly behind them to signal they were once again locked. The chandelier flickered faintly before turning on, breaking the darkness of the hall. The windows of the house had done them no good in providing light as each of them were sealed with what looked like unmovable slates of steel, another security measure in place long before they arrived.

A particular painting seemed to have called Alice's attention. An enormous lion lounging in the grass of the African plains, his amber-colored eyes piercing, it seemed to be staring fixedly on Alice. She pulled from underneath the seat of the iron wrought chair a small red card about the size of a palm and swiped it into the edge of the painting's frame.

The painting slid backward and up into the wooden panel revealing many small monitors of black and white. Jill released Angie's hand finally after giving it a comforting squeeze and joining L.J. and Carlos and they moved toward the house's owner.

"What's that?" L.J. questioned though he was pretty sure he knew what they were observing.

Alice turned to the group, "Surveillance, covers the whole house." She then went back to observing the monitors, she gave a small nod of satisfaction before allowing the painting to slide back into place. The group began to trickle away to better observe the hall, Olivera rounded the hall until he disappeared behind the grand stair as Alice explained: "Kitchen, past the dining room if you follow the hallway there's a restroom, get to the end of the hall and you'll find another guestroom," Alice gestured to the open entryway, then at the two doors just past it. "Study's the dark brown door, guest bedroom's the pale brown one, they connect to a living room." She brushed past Jill stopping at the foot of the staircase. "Upstairs to the left last door, master bedroom, library is the door in green oak. The right wing you'll find an office and a couple of other rooms, an attic…" she trailed off. Alice pinched the bridge of her nose and close her eyes briefly as though trying to clear her head. "Can't remember exactly what else is up there."

Seemed Olivera had finally shaken his paranoia as Jill noticed his weapon was back in his waistband as he returned to them. "You mean this is your house and don't remember what's in it?"

Alice gave a strange smile. "Been at least two years since I bought it, never had time for the whole tour. Every so often I come to restock the food, take care of anything that's gone bad. Water plants…"

Jill gave a wave of her hand towards the back of the grand staircase where Carlos had come from. She gave Alice a look akin to suspicion. "What about that way?"

"Yeah, there's another staircase behind the grand stair," Olivera pointed out, "what's down there?"

"A living room, downstairs kitchen, a gym to the far left side, a set of glass doors leads you to the pool and a basement."

Alice's explanation seemed to satisfy the group all but Jill who leaned heavily on the stair banister looking deeply frustrated and tired, one side of her face shadowed by her dark tresses made her pretty features look even darker and more mysterious.

It didn't go unnoticed by Alice, Jill's preoccupation, that normally wouldn't be cause for concern, it was something else…

Angie held Alice's hand softly, her green eyes imploring. "Have you anything to eat? I'm quite hungry."

L.J. noting Alice's intent look at the Raccoon City cop decided he too was hungry. "I'll take you to the kitchen if you want."

Carlos yawned stretching his aching limbs. "You've got more than strawberry yogurt?" he asked Alice almost teasingly.

Alice forced a smile. "There's a meat locker downstairs too and the fridge is stocked…with banana yogurt."

Unable to tell if she was serious or joking Carlos followed after young Angie and L.J. with a shake of his head.

Once they were gone, Alice joined Jill where she was sitting in the middle of the grand stair playing with what looked like an old police badge.

"Hey."

The glint of the silver flashed briefly into the blonde's eyes confirming that it was indeed a police badge.

"I thought they confiscate those when you're--

Ms. Valentine tossed the badge from hand to hand hastily. "Fired?" she interrupted. "I got suspended." Left hand, right hand the badge glittered. "But you're right, even then they take your badge."

"You steal it back?" Alice wasn't sure why she asked.

"Arklay forest was my last assignment." Jill seemed as though she didn't hear the question, she switched from tossing the badge back and forward to tossing and catching it deftly into the air. "There were…incidences in the woods. A woman was pulled out of the river, torn to pieces, at least ten missing persons reports of tourists on a camping trip with a few locals. Bravo Team was called to investigate."

"The S.T.A.R.S. unit?"

Jill gave a mute nod. "Anyway when Bravo Team didn't return we--, all of us on the Alpha Team," Jill corrected herself. "Got out here, myself and six other officers, found a campsite. It was…a huge mess, sleeping bags in pieces, tent poles broken in half and, there was blood everywhere. The fire was still going." She met Alice's gaze. "Found an arm and a head, still warm. Figured it was a rabid bear or wolf or something. I heard one of my teammates scream. When I turned around…she was standing there, mouth open like she was going to scream. She made this horrible gurgling sound and her intestines spilled out. I didn't see the thing attack, hear it or even sense it. We ran through the woods for about a half hour, another one of my teammates was taken down by a pack of infected dogs that had trailed us. The rest of us made it to the Spencer mansion, you know of it?"

Alice nodded.

"Well inside, we uncovered some of Umbrella's secret documents, that was when we learned all about the t-virus. Inside the mansion we thought we were safe but the virus had infected the people inside and everything that had once been living. A young girl we found inside was alive but she looked terrible, we thought it was because she'd been starving and was in shock. Her stomach burst and all of these--" Jill looked nauseous. "She's been infected by an arachnid, she couldn't have been any older than ten. To make a long story short everyone died but me, got suspended for telling 'outrageous lies.' "

Both women were silent until Jill got to her feet standing in front of the other woman. "This place isn't any safer than Raccoon City, eventually this mansion will become our tomb. If you thought we had a problem in the city…"

"We can't leave the forest, not yet, not now," Alice said sternly.

Jill gave a huff of frustration. "We've got to, this place won't hold them out forever. The virus is in the woods!"

"I don't expect it to," Alice explained trying to keep her voice down. "But I'm telling you if you want to live, you have to trust me. I know the virus is here, I was aware the moment I stepped foot outside the lab, I smell it in the air and if you think you're protecting Angie from the truth she knows it too. She can smell it." Alice studied Jill's shocked expression. "There's something else you should know too. There is most definitely something in the woods, something more dangerous than the creatures in the church, bigger and stronger than Nemesis."

Just as Jill was about to speak a scream split through the silence of the house. Her crystal-blue eyes widened in horror meeting Alice's.

"Angie!" Jill realized.


	6. The Monster

Reviewers: Thank you so much you are wonderful! And don't worry I do plan to answer all of your questions eventually through the story, don't wanna spoil any surprises...

Disclaimer: Resident Evil is not mine, just using it for my own amusement please don't sue, you'd be awarded everything I own which is a guitar, pointe shoes and a picture of Orlando Bloom. Worth it? I didn't think so.

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 6**

**The Monster**

Ever since Angela Ashford regained her ability to walk, thanks to some carefully engineered strands of the t-virus, she found herself poking her nose into everything possible. After only a few months of physical therapy she was as strong as any normal kid and even took up soccer to keep her legs strong, half in fear that if she didn't those precious leg muscles she worked so long to make strong would die, crippling her once more. She didn't want to go back to spending her days mindlessly coloring and playing a game of chess for one, watching outside the classroom window the other children laugh and jump, skip and run…

She vowed never to be that girl again and thanks to her father she would never have to be.

Her father had meant well really but clearly the rest of Umbrella didn't. And now her father was dead and gone and Angela didn't properly mourn, after the horror of Raccoon City she didn't know how to have really any emotions except fear.

The lower level of Alice's titanic home was just as impressive as the upper. The floors shiny hardwood glistened in the soft glow of the lamplight. There were no paintings down here just pictures that dotted both end tables of the den, taking a closer look Angie noticed a few of them were of Alice.

Sitting upon the forest green armchair Angie took a closer look.

Their leader's hair was much longer, coming to the middle of her waist, and fell in soft waves of honey blonde silk over one shoulder, she wore a clingy ribbon blue knee length dress complete with six-inch heels, it was possible to see on her uncovered right ear an expensive looking sapphire earring. She looked like one of those rare, good-natured, life-loving beautiful ones.

It was hard to believe this woman was the same woman Angie knew. The woman in the picture was young, confident and beautiful through and through, though Alice still possessed all of these traits her mouth was no longer set in a perfect pretty pout but a hard line of anger and self-hatred, the softness of her eyes had hardened like glass marbles and her presence became one to be respected and feared.

Setting down the photo, a small photo in a gold frame glittered catching Angie's attention. This one was a simple black and white photograph of Alice and a dark-haired serious but suave looking man. He wore a black tuxedo and she wore a white wedding dress, the date was a fairly recent one.

Only two years ago…

So where was her husband now?

"Angie?"

Angie, startled, nearly jumped off of the seat of the armchair.

"Yes?" she called back.

"You all right in there?" Carlos called back from inside the kitchen.

Angie returned the photo back to it's place on the table. "Yes, I'm fine," she assured him.

The house went silent again, at least it seemed that way until Angela heard the tiniest scraping noise coming from outside the den, the steady glimmer of a blue-tinted light spilling into the room beckoned Angie to investigate. She recalled Alice telling them of a basement and a pool, perhaps there was something--

"You going to come have something to eat?" L.J. called back.

Angie hesitated at the sound of his voice as she was halfway out of the door. She knew she shouldn't wander but Alice's house was safe…

"In a minute."

Wasn't it?

Curiosity got the better of Angela and she followed the little noise further into the hallway turning to a darkened right corner past the darkened gym. The sound had stopped and Angie looked on at the source of light, the brilliant chlorinated water of the indoor pool gleamed from soft light at the deep bottom dancing across Angie's face.

She pressed a small hand to the thick glass doors remembering her mother, she loved to swim…

Angie gasped as the sound returned, louder this time, so close by.

There was a heavy looking steel door directly at the end of the hall and it was slightly open.

Perhaps she had imagined the sound, yes that was it…

She was ready to return to the den when she came face to face with the creature responsible for the noise.

Angela began to scream.

* * *

Jill ran with all the speed she could muster, heart thundering in her chest with worry, it was only due to her amazing superhuman speed Alice made it down before her.

They discovered Angie nearest the pool door entrance trembling, her face drained of nearly all color. Carlos and L.J. had met the group in the hallway equally spooked.

Alice raised her gun, a 9mm pistol that looked quite puny next to Carlos's own assault rifle.

Jill crouched next to Angela to better assess her state. "Angie? You okay?"

Angie nodded frantically, her green eyes wide, "yes, but there's something here, alive!"

Jill glanced behind herself seeing nothing.

"Well where the fuck is it!" L.J. shouted waving his guns wildly about.

Carlos laid a hand upon the L.J's shoulder giving him a reproachful look that ceased his wild gun actions.

"It--I didn't see it, it ran over--" Angie stammered then her face froze in horror. "There!"

"Where?" Alice said following Angie's gaze with an unshakable calm. She didn't need Angie to answer, there was a flash of glowing green eyes and the creature slinked quickly under the hall's end table.

"Back up," Alice instructed as she gripped the tablecloth.

Throwing aside the tablecloth Alice aimed her pistol…

A pair of fierce some green eyes stared into the barrel of the gun, the creature opened it's mouth to growl ferociously.

_"Mew."_

"Of yeah, a real killer there," Carlos chuckled lowering his weapon.

Lowering her gun Alice beckoned to the creature clicking her tongue softly. "Here kitty, kitty." She turned back to her comrades, "don't know where he came from, but he's not infected. Don't know how he got in here…"

"The door there," Angie piped softly gesturing towards the open basement door.

"Lock it Carlos," Alice said urgently.

Without a question Carlos closed the door clicking a heavy steel lock into place.

"The basement doesn't have monitors and the steel window plates are offline, I forgot they're only operable down here. Best keep it locked until I can take a closer look," Alice explained.

With much apprehension the cat cowered forward into the dim light of the hallway, it's expression dripping with innocence. Alice carefully lifted the feline into her arms caressed the cat's fur absently and the cat began purring madly

Alice gave the cat a reassuring scratch behins it's ear. "She must have squeezed through the window down there, looking for something to eat and someplace safe."

"She's beautiful," Angie remarked reaching to stroke the feline.

Indeed the cat was, bit on the heavy side only due to her bulk in muscular size covered in thick soft long gray fur except for her face, paws, chest and the tip of its fox-like tail, those areas were a pure white.

Probably a pedigreed prize-winning showstopper. There was no need to wonder about the fate of the owners if the cat had been wandering the Arklay mountains alone.

Alice smiled down at Angie, the first genuine one she'd had in a long time and she held out the feline to Angie, "well then she's all yours."

"Hey wait a minute that thing could be feral," Jill interjected. "Any diseases that thing is carrying could make Angie sick."

Alice wasonly half listening at she looked on at the child cooing softly to the drowsy-eyed feline content to sleep in Angie's arms.

Carlos seemed just as ready to dismiss Jill's concern. "Come on Valentine, the only thing that cat is capable of is purring the kid to death."

Even L.J. shrugged nonchalantly, 'it's just a damn cat."

Jill wanted to protest some more, Alice could see that clearly and knew it wasn't just an excuse to fight with her, Jill was concern for Angie, over their time together she had protected the child like a mother and while they all were outlaws from Umbrella everything seemed a threat. She just wanted to keep her safe.

But Angie was happy and after the violent death of her father the therapy of a furry companion didn't seem like such a terrible idea.

Angie seemed to be holding the creature for dear life looking pleading at Jill for understanding.

Jill forced a smile down at Angie. "Come on, let's go find your friend some food and water then."

When the groups footsteps faded to return to the sanctuary of the den there was silence, then--

_Scrape, scrape._

The scraping returned and a long rivulet of blood seeped from the corner of the steel doorway...

* * *


	7. Unfinished Business

It was two days later when Rain awakened, though she herself felt as though it had only been an hour, she was still fatigued and her mind and body in unison cried for more sleep even if it was here in the most dangerous and god-forsaken place in the world.

The memory of her last conscious state snapped Rain's mind out of it's peaceful listlessness. She tried to will her body to rise to a sitting position and it was then Rain realized that she could not move.

Fighting her need to panic, Rain looked down to confirm her limbs were no longer bound instead they lay uselessly on the white mattress floor giving faint trembles. Hundreds of long black marks no thicker than a single line of thread danced inside of her now pale, pale skin trailing from shoulder to fingertips and on her legs the faint lines snaked around her to the very tips of her exposed toes. The worst part however, was the feeling of her limbs, it was a strange tingling feeling that sent ripples of heat so intense Rain began to crave control of her limbs if only for a moment to tear the skin from them. She tried once more to make use of her body and instantly her skin felt as though it had been doused in acid and the faint trembles of her limbs grew to epic proportions and it looked she were having a grand mal seizure.

A pitiful whimper came that Rain didn't even recognize as her own and tears welled into her eyes as her throat became tight and thick with a disgusting and burning acrid taste.

How long would this continue? How much more could she bear before she begged them--

No, hell no, she would never ever give in and beg for their mercy.

She already knew all about Umbrella's mercy, she'd take her chances with her pride.

Her temperature ignited causing pools of sweat to cover Rain's already fevered skin and she swallowed down the bile rising in her throat before she turned her eyes to the sound of the door opening.

Dr. Isaacs strode forward, a filmy silhouette lacking facial features in Rain's illness but he radiated a smugness that even a blind man could see. He squatted on his heels barely three feet from the ailing Rain.

A cool finger caressed Rain's brow and an infuriated growl rose from within her at her helplessness and the future abuse sure to come.

"Come now Rain, surely you're done fighting me now," the doctor remarked gently. He ran a hand through her wet tresses soothingly before lifting the lid of Rain's nearly closed eyes. The deep chocolate brown color seemed to have crystallized, a pale blue milky translucent lens capturing the pupil and iris. "You are very sick my dear."

"D-don't touch m-me." Rain's jaw quivered and spasmed with every word and she struggled to gain breath into her lungs after such an exertion.

Rain Ocampo never ceased to amaze Samuel Isaacs, most people would have begged for mercy and release from the pain. Most people would have given anything to be free of the torture, but not Rain. The proud woman would rather die than admit defeat or become submissive to anyone and for that the good doctor was proud to call her his most successful project.

"It's attacking your nerves now, the poison that is," the doctor began, letting the end of a pen rest on his lips. "In a short while, about an hour to be exact you will experience waves of cardiac arrest, then full paralysis of all motor functions. Blindness will set in about four hours later, leaving you a vegetable."

The harshness of her breathing was not lost to Dr. Isaacs's ears nor Rain's stifled whimpers and moans. She clenched her eyes shut, her teeth grinding together violently before another helpless whimper came and the young woman's head lolled suddenly meeting the side of the wall hard. A hot wet liquid began seeping from her ear and Rain could smell that it was blood.

"The poison in your system, I speak of is, in short, cultured samples of the t-virus after they'd been injected within various types of living tissue. Currently there are seventeen types swimming through you: one coming from an infected Doberman, another from a black widow spider, a jaguar, even a common black raven to name a few. Each of them latching onto, tearing down and stitching together various strands of your DNA, changing, shaping, perfecting your entire body," he explained ignoring the flaming wrath burning in Rain's eyes. "Ingenious yes. But of course it is not without some setbacks, yours being the worse pain imaginable." He shrugged slowly contemplating. "The threshold of pain you will endure I'm told will most likely kill you as it is unheard of that any man or woman has survived the amount of shock your nerves must now endure." He stroked her dark tangled tresses again absently marveling at how vulnerable and feminine she looked now at his mercy. "I however believe otherwise, but I'm sure as we wait the process out you'd probably like something to make you feel a bit more…comfortable, yes?"

The silence stretched for a long while and all that could be heard was Rain's ragged breaths that as time went on were sounding more and more like sobs as her face was veiled by her hair.

Satisfaction swelled through the doctor. Even people like Rain could be broken, in due time. The woman was much like a wild mare, resilient and unbroken, with firmness and strict discipline she could and would be tamed.

"Hmm?" the doctor asked patiently uncovering her hidden features. "Am I right?"

With a cool glance at Rain Dr. Isaacs was surprised at what met his eyes. Instead of a look of horror, a…_smile _crept up Rain's face, giving her sickly state a chilling look.

"Do…" Rain started her voice wavering dangerously with effort, "your worst you son of a bitch."

"Have it your way my dear."

Rain's screams echoed for miles.

* * *

_"…However, if I were looking for a white rabbit, I'd ask the Mad Hatter." _

_"The Mad Hatter? Uh... no, no, I do- I don't--"_

_"Or, there's the March Hare. In that direction." _

_"Oh, thank you. I- I think I shall visit him."_

_"Of course, he's mad too." _

_"But I don't want to go among mad people!"_

_"Oh, you can't help that. Almost everyone is mad here. Ha... ha ha ha ha ha! You may have noticed that I'm not all there myself... Hahaha…" _the Cheshire Cat grinned widely, it's large yellow eyes rolling about.

Alice gave an involuntary shudder before turning away from the soft glow of the television, for some reason the story _Alice in Wonderland _rang frightfully familiar to her own adventure in the Hive.

She returned to her task of sorting through various items of clothing the group had gathered as well as some of her own clothing found inside the house. Some looked fine, others it was evident went through hell.

Examining a shirt of thin silk Alice's frown deepened before she tossed the ruined garment away, she could do without wearing someone else's blood _and_ shirt.

"A couple of washes and that could be good as new," Jill commented offhandedly noticing Alice's actions.

Through the corner of her eye Alice could see Jill carefully picking up the garment and examining the dotted droplets of blood that almost looked like splatter paint.

"Give it a hundred washes I could still smell the blood and death on that thing," Alice replied with more bitterness directed towards the shirt than Jill.

Dropping the shirt, Jill made no further comment.

"_In that case..._ _a very merry unbirthday!"_

"_To me?"_

"_To you!"_

"_A very merry unbirthday!"_

_"For me?"_

_"For you! Now blow the candle out, my dear and make your wish come true! He he he!"_

"_A very merry unbirthday to you!"_

Angie giggled quietly and the Mad Hatter and March Hare laughed along wildly as they finished their song.

The adorable redhead was curled in an enormous overstuffed forest green armchair her gaze fixed on the wild antics of the two at the Mad Hatter's Tea Party. With an expression almost twin to Angie's, Belladonna sat on the left armrest of the chair emitting rumbling purrs as Angie absently stroked her chin and ears.

In the few days since they had arrived, the feline had become less timid and nervous around everyone, except L.J. who screamed and swore entirely too much for her liking but sometimes when he was sleeping she would curl into his lap and makeherself at home. To the amusement of everyone her behavior was more canine than feline. She insisted on being petted all the time, she begged for table scraps but with all a cat's dignity and dutifully followed Angie everywhere she went, except the basement level, that's when Angie found herself carrying the cat as she would mewl and cry loudly when left alone until someone caved and reunited her with Angie.

Unlike most children Angie didn't show signs of growing tired of having Belladonna as she spent most of her day playing with the cat until both were too tired to do anything else but lie on the floor.

Five days in this house and everyone was beginning to relax to some degree but perhaps that was due to the routine of domestic life that they had missed. All alone and isolated within the Prospero mansion with enough food and fresh water to last for at least a month's time and enough room to go about the house any time and comfortably was a nice change from running.

Eventually though they were all going to go stir crazy, but for now they didn't have to run, go hungry and could get rest with the only real down side being the nightmares all of them endured, maybe they'd never go away…

After another hour passed the laundry was shoved out of the way with one foot and Alice stole a glance at Angie one more time. The young girl'sredcurls blanketed her face as her head hung against her chest and Belladonna had tiptoed down from the armrest and into her master's lap.

In the other recliner, across from Angie, Jill watched with a small smile on her face and her chin resting in one hand, her legs crossed and one foot swinging idly. At the couch L.J. lay lengthwise, his hat resting over his face and only the top of his head and chin were visible. He was breathing deeply, sleeping soundly.

Tonight no nightmares would come for him.

But still the nightmares couldn't wound them any deeper than the actual encounters had. But something else definitely could hurt them and Alice hadn't forgotten it, not for a moment.

"Where is Carlos?"

Curiously Jill looked at Alice, "upstairs I guess."

Alice rose not meeting the other woman's gaze, a gleaming silver Colt magnum in her right hand. "Stay here."

Jill doubted she'd get an answer, but that was not why she didn't ask, she didn't think she wanted to know. But she couldn't just stand around and watch if there was something serious that needed to be done.

"Stay with Angie," Alice repeated before closing the door softly behind her.

Alice walked a sure path to the ground floor, not hurrying nor dawdling, she followed his scent all the way to the library. Carlos didn't even look up from his reading but Alice knew he was aware of her presence.

"Carlos," she said after a moment.

He looked up expectantly.

"The basement, I'll need your help," she said without allowing him time to speak and exited the room.

When he caught up to her she had rounded the back of the main staircase to proceed to basement level. They entered first the locked iron door just at the foot of the stair. Carlos had guessed correctly, it was an armory.

She passed him a large barreled weapon Carlos recognized.

He examined the barrel closely before loading the chamber. "You think something's down there?"

Alice locked the door behind them and they continued down the long turning hallway. "Has to be, I smell blood. Lots of it."

To confirm her theory a dark dried substance coated the floor in an enormous pool, it had definitely seeped from under the basement doorway.

"It's a miracle the cat made it out alive…" Carlos mused.

The blonde warrior didn't respond and after a bit she turned her attention to Carlos, her expression grave and demanding his attention.

"Stay close okay?" she said.

Carlos smiled reassuringly, "you got it."

It didn't assure her at all, if anything she felt a bit more hesitant. She wasn't sure if bringing Carlos along was such a good idea after all, if anything were to happen she knew she'd be responsible.

She didn't know him well but she trusted him and had specifically chosen him because of that. Yes, it was true she did trust Jill and even L.J. but she needed someone with excellent aim (which L.J. lacked), a cool head (which L.J. also lacked), and a willingness to follow Alice's given order (which Jill definitely lacked) so Olivera is was.

The scent of blood was so strong Alice couldn't smell anything but it, leaving her to guess at the predator and even how many. She would be defenseless with the lights busted, her night vision may have been better than any human's but the time to adjust to the darkness and the speed in which the creature could move left Alice as vulnerable as any human for a moment or two. She needed someone, like it or not.

When she was vulnerable that put Carlos at risk too and despite Carlos' cunning, weapons knowledge, self-defense tactics and survival skills in the end Carlos was just a man.

As she lifted the locks and unlocked the keypad she continued, "anything I say Olivera, you have to swear you'll do. Anything. Even if it's turn tail and run."

Carlos opened his mouth to protest when Alice hardened her features sternly. He nodded stiffly clearly hating himself for agreeing. Satisfied Alice turned on her flashlight and Carlos his.

The safety of Alice's magnum in the other hand clicked loudly as Alice released it and Carlos did the same.

"Well let's go get 'em cowboy," Carlos remarked humorlessly.

They closed the door behind them and a pitch black darkness engulfed them and they heard nothing but hollow silence. A glow of moonlight came from a tiny window at the far side of the room, the screen was ripped open and gray fur was snagged at the frayed wire ends where Belladonna had made her entrance.

The two remained quiet running their lights around the room, seeing nothing.

Alice listened carefully as the silence grew unnaturally heavy, her heart beat faster in anticipation of danger that was sure to come. Her eyes were slow to adjustbut were steadilysharpening the hazed darkness.

"You see anything?" Carlos finally asked after a minute or two.

Slowly Alice shook her head then answered when she forgot Carlos could not see her as his flashlight was scanning the other side of the room. "No nothing."

"Must be gone now, must be--

Carlos didn't get to finish and Alice turned just in time to see the skinless monster leap from a support beam onto him.

It was too fast, too fast for even Alice when the creature gave a triumphant screech and stuck it's talons into him spilling out everything inside Carlos Olivera.


	8. Lady Luck

**Well hello my loyal reviewers. I know loads of you were quite upset my what I did previously to a dearly loved group member, but before you angry villagers come knocking with your torches and pitchforks, please read on...**

**But first... **

Rain1657: Thank you for your consistant reviews, you are wonderful and I am glad you think I am keeping true to everyone, especially Rain and L/J/ They are complex people, all the characters are but these two I think I usually see just blown over the top, like L.J.just the comic relief (he is but that's not his only purpose)or Rain's too soft or too hard (she's a woman yes, but not some little girl or big man). Thanks again.

Celsie:Don't cryI love Carlos too and you'll soon see everything I do has a purpose.

Fallen Angel, Shneebly, iceman, AerisTifaYuffie, Sarius Nafthian, youte, Karene,big fan, Al Diggs, Vader X, Caren H and dont have a name thank you all as well, your awesomereviews keepme writing.

* * *

Chapter 8

**Lady Luck**

Carlos gave a grunt of surprise and as a result of air being thrown from his lungs so swiftly. Just like that the creature spread it's long talons across Carlos's midsection in a fell swoop like a rake.

Carlos Olivera gave a cry of shock more than pain and as a last reflex withdrew his hunting knife burying it deep into the left side of the creature's head. In fiery, the creature screamed slapping the remaining strength in Carlos away with it's terrible tongue.

It roused Alice to shoot, putting another hole in the creature's brain spraying pieces of jelly-like flesh and blood all over and this time it turned it's attention to Alice showing needle-like teeth she definitely recognized.

The horrific beast Umbrella had appropriately named the Licker. Alice's first encounter being at the Hive on the train where they had lost Kaplan to the beast, the second time in the church where she had met Jill.

Dispatching them the first time had been a terrifying experience in which Alice had felt exceptionally small and vulnerable and surerthan she'd ever been about anything in her life she was going to die on that train. Now all she felt was a terrible rage consume her and a fierce power unlike anything she had ever felt before charging the blood in her veins.

This Licker was a bit different from the others she'd seen, this one had a sort of greenish tinge to it's wet flesh, swelling with each breath and pulpy as a freshly squeezed lime. And it's abdomen swelled a bit as though it were bloated with something…

It tried the same tongue trick but Alice wastoo fast. She easily dodged the whipping appendage and snatched it into her hand, she closed her fist twisting the sticky, hot flesh round before using extraordinary strength to rip it straight from the creature's mouth.

Then she shot it again right in it's shrieking mouth and the creature fell with a hard thud permanently silenced.

Alice lowered her magnum but realized her mistake instantly when another hissing infuriated demon dived from the ceiling only a foot from her.

Before Alice could even react the creature threw up it's front claws screeching terribly before collapsing to the ground.

What had happened Alice didn't even know.

The pool of blood oozing from the creature's head and a long silver blade gave Alice a hint as to what have immobilized it permanently.

"Close call, huh?" her companion said. Olivera stood wincing from the impact of the fall and coming to Alice's side.

Alice stared wide-eyed at him unbelieving of Carlos's luck, looking closer she noticed he received not a scratch to his bare skin but the shirt had seen much better days clearly.

"You all right?" Carlos asked seeing her expression.

Alice nodded still eyeing the shreds of t-shirt hanging from his lean but muscular frame. "For a minute I thought that thing, I mean I thought I saw it--

"Must have missed me by a tenth of a millimeter or so, sheer dumb luck I guess," Carlos said shrugging in disbelief as he tenderly rubbed the back of his neck.

Alice fought the urge to seize the man into a strong hug but instead leaned against the far stone wall of the basement and breathed a loud sigh of relief.

"You are some lucky rabbit's foot Olivera," Alice remarked.

Carlos managed a weak chuckle after gathering his fallen flashlight. "That a hint of relief I detect?"

Alice had moved back towards the window where the two could remain a safe distance away from the smell of rotting flesh and where they could clearly see each other. She glanced over her shoulder back at him smiling just a bit. "Maybe."

The two then peered back at the dead creatures with the help of their flashlights. "What is it?"

"One of Umbrella's earliest experiments with the T-virus, it's the virus directly injected into a sample of pure living tissue," Alice explained.

Carlos clearly wasn't expecting an answer as he stared at Alice for a moment with a look of surprise. "You've seen one of these before?"

Alice nodded. "In Umbrella's underground lab, they called it--

"The Hive," Carlos finished, "yeah I've heard of it. They sent a rescue team down there before the city was overrun."

Alice frowned nudging the creature closest to her with her combat boots, the creature rolled over onto it's back, it's enormous mouth open and no less menacing in death. "Rescue team," she scoffed, "lambs to the slaughter is more like it. They roamed the city too. Valentine and a friend took refuge from them in a church when I found them."

Noticing the slight bulge in the creature's otherwise solid and muscular structure Carlos bent to look closer. "What do you suppose that is?"

The enormous weapon Alice had been carrying on her back was dislodged and she gave a single pump of the powerful rifle before pulling the trigger and the creature's midsection split into many tiny pieces of revoltingly smelly and slimy confetti. She did the same to the other.

A look of barely contained disgust crossed Alice's face. "Not taking any chances. My guess is they were breeding."

"So there's a chance daddy's around here somewhere?"

Alice nodded her head without hesitation. She reached up onto her tiptoes to close the open window. "No. We would have seen it. They hunt in groups and die in groups."

The two using a heavy canvas they discovered in the basement (possibly the remains of an army tent left from previous owners) wrapped the bodies inside. They planned to haul them up to the third story balcony and toss them over where they would tumble down the hill a safe distance from the house. They had decided to risk a trip to the balcony, flying virus-carriers or not, Alice definitely didn't want the house to begin to smell of rotting bodies.

"Wrap it tight and watch the claws," Alice warned.

Alice set the security alarm and watched the small iron panel slide over the small window and darkness swallowed the basement once more.

"Something wrong?"

Alice's hand hovered over the heavy steel door once they were outside it and she had a peculiar expression. "No, well at least I don't think so. It's just…never mind."

She reset the locks on the basement door for no real reason, she blamed it on her nerves.

It seemed the last couple of days had caught up to her and Alice's feet seemed to weigh a ton. Super-human bio-weapon or not, she was still human enough to have sleep deprivation catch up to her.

She was crossing her fingers for the absence of nightmares.

Once the two had succeeded in disposing of the bodies they stopped in the grand hall and as if on cue the old grandfather clock began to chime

"It's one in the morning, you should get some sleep," Alice suggested. "And thanks for helping me out."

"Don't mention it," Carlos replied with a rather casual air then a devilish wink before heading upstairs.

Alice smiled after him despite herself she couldn't help but admit she was quite fond of Carlos Olivera. She didn't move from her spot until she heard the sound of shower water hitting his tanned skin then she returned to check once more on the others.

Jill was still awake, flipping so rapidly through the channels on the television Alice was sure Jill could care less about what was on as long as she was preoccupied with the meaningless action. She snapped her head round hearing Alice enter.

"Basement's clear," Alice said simply.

Jill noticed the faint flickers of blood and slivers of wet flesh sticking to Alice's shirt. "What _was_ it?"

"Nothing we couldn't handle," she assured Jill. "I'm going to bed now, you should try to sleep too."

Jill nodded clearly not listening, still channel-surfing at the speed of light. "Yeah, I'll do that. Thanks."

Alice let her be. She somehow managed to drag herself to the top floor left wing restroom nearly drowning in the sweet warmth she wasn't even aware that she left the shower with angry red marks all over her skin.

She found the master bedroom knowing Olivera had already chosen the room down the hall from it and she was glad for it, he being on the same floor made her feel much more secure. Though there were more than enough bedrooms, about six to be exact, L.J. often took his rest on the overstuffed couch in the basement level den, with Jill in the second bedroom in the right wing of the ground floor and Angie across from her. She also chose it because the bed was massive and Alice had developed a bad tossing and turning habit in the recent weeks and her chances of staying in the bed were greater if it was bigger. She couldn't complain though as almost two days ago her mental stability seemed to be returning and she thought about hurting the group less and less.

She was asleep before she hit the mattress.

* * *

Umbrella's Laboratory… 

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The entire room trembled under the terrible rage and pain of Rain Ocampo. The triple reinforced glass windows even began to show signs of wear and were beginning to splinter and spider web with cracks.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

She told herself she'd never give in to them and she hadn't. She'd sworn she'd never be given their poison without a fight and she hadn't. She had also promised she'd never show them how much it hurt but she had. She couldn't help it.

Sometime in the fourth hour after the seizures and just short of her eighth episode of cardiac arrest she began to scream, and it was the loudest, most angry, most desperate scream Rain had ever heard, she wondered how a human could ever make a noise that terrible and she could hardly conceive it was coming from her.

Into the second hour of the experiment, she had been drugged andmoved into another room. She'd been placed into a kind of observation lab and strapped down to a heavy steel table,the room was empty, but she knew somewhere in the back of her mind (where her last bit of sanity hid) they were watching.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

She couldn't stop screaming, somehow the sound of it had burst from her and now she couldn't stop.

Inside the observation tower a red-headed nurse with a rather pursed expression called out from her computer: "Heart rate climbing to three hundred beats a minute average, left lung beginning to collapse."

Dispute the frantic buzzing and humming of the equipment telling of the danger of the experiment, the doctor calmly inquired. "Estimated time till collapse?"

"Approximately two minutes."

The doctor drifted over to the other monitors showing all vitals of Rain's current state. The equipment also transferred more drugs into Rain's system, mostly adrenal drugs to keep her awake (once the heart slowed it wasn't much longer till it stopped). Tiny fragments of the newly fused virus dripped from an I.V bag to a tube that ran along the side wall through the window and finally infected more of Rain's system. But the most important machine transferred the anti-virus to remove any imperfections of the T-virus, that was, any strands of the virus that had begun to attack Rain's DNA instead of improve it, they were cleaned away and the human strand was repaired instantly and left intact. The anti-virus was put into effect after a cardiac arrest, to repair DNA at regular intervals and to repair the weakened heart muscle, it had been a good hour since Rain's last one.

"Sir, the infusion, should I give it?" A young male had swiveled around to face the doctor then anxious eyed the windows of the tower that were splitting further down as Rain went on screaming. Eventually the glass would give and their heads would probably explode.

Dr. Isaacs held up one hand to emphasize his point. "No," he ordered, "she can hold out. Just a bit longer, I want every bit of the new virus absorbed, she's no good to me only half done."

The anxious man nodded once clearly disagreeing with the doctor's plan.

"Sir, the lung it's going right now and the heart's jumped up to another twenty beats a minute, if she has another cardiac arrest at such a crucial moment…"

He knew what would happen at the moment the lung collapsed, the imbalance of it would leave the heart in a permanent state of cardiac arrest then his experiment would fail, his work would be in vain, his Rain would die. He couldn't have that.

The monitors began to beep even more shrilly than before, as if they were going to explode.

"All right, start release of the anti-virus, minimum dosage."

As ordered the anti-virus was released but not before the shrill ring of the heart rate monitor gave a loud steady whine and Rain quieted. She had entered another cardiac arrest, one she wouldn't wake from if her lung wasn't repaired in top speed.

"Left lung lost," a nurse declared.

Not good. Rain Ocampo's death was something Dr. Isaacs wasn't sure he could fix before her DNA was level to the design of theexperiment.

The anti-virus would have to be delivered straight to the brainstem, that meant manual injection. He hadn't anticipated this, still it was feasible.

Using every bit of his patience and unquestionable expertise in genetic experimentation Samuel Isaacs prepared the needle before addressing the female nurse to his left who's puckered expression hadn't changed.

"Ms. Little to me, bring the sedative. Stay put Mr. Stone. We have very little time, hopefully Lady Luck is on our side."

The nurse immediately went to attention as the other young man simply nodded returning his gaze to the dead woman in the white room.

As the entered the corridor to the laboratory the doctor began to speak once more to his assistant. "The sedative will need to be put into the jugular."

"What about the upper bicep for easier deliverance?"

The doctor had been ready for her argument. "No, it has to be the jugular. I'll need that sedative moving to the brain as quickly as possible once she has revived. We definitely don't want to be over taken by Ms. Ocampo when she's clearheaded."

"Yes sir."

...From the observation deck, nurse Adam Stone watched his monitors idly trying to ignore the shrill sound of the heart rate monitor then he noticed the brain wave monitor. His blood ran cold as he looked on in horror at Rain lying there.

Her fingers had begun to twitch, curling and uncurling, and they went unnoticed by both the doctor and nurse...

Already a blueish tinge was coming to Rain's skin and her skin felt absolutely frigid.

"All right Ocampo," the doctor said aloud squeezing the syringe. "Impress me."

Rain's eyes snapped open locking the doctor in her gaze. "Well if you insist doctor."

The windows of the lab exploded throwing glass all over the room, then the monitors went as well and an angry fire ran from the smoking screen of one of them.

Ms. Little screamed and the doctor turned in time to see the terrified nurse clutching her skull so violently her nails were raking her scalp, blood began to pool from her ears and nose. She began to convulse and cry hysterically shaking her head, as Rain's malevolent gaze narrowed the woman head split and exploded as easily as a birthday balloon. Rain calmly stepped over the still twitching body, never minding the screams coming from down the hall.

She turned her focus on the doctor, smiling as sweet as a doll. "Now if you don't mind doctor, I myself would like to try a little experiment."

She knew the six lab upstairs were on fire and Umbrella scientists were burning alive, because she wanted them too and right now whatever Rain wanted to happen was happening exact as she desired.

A nearby scream broke her focus. She looked up through the broken observatory window to see a man trying desperately to pull open the door before the flames licking at his heels devoured him.

Rain remembered him and she wanted him to burn.

All the monitors went up in flames torching the man ruthlessly. His face blackened and began to peel, he started to scream like a banshee and Rain walked on relentlessly, she didn't even flinch or look back when the man's blackened body fell broken and charred from the tower.

The doctor had fled in the moment Rain had chosen to take care of Adam Stone and Rain burned with furiousness. She would find him, if it took at night she would find him.

Rain didn't even slow down her sure and steady steps knowing the doors were all locked. The steel door separating her corridor from the main hall groaned before tearing from it's hinges, twisting and wavering like a wind-blown tumbleweed before slamming through the glass of a lab.

Oddly her head began to throb and her limbs jitter a bit, there was blood trickling from her nose.

She was weakening and fast and more than revenge on Umbrella Rain wanted escape, there was always next time.

Once more Rain watched a door tear itself away from the hinges and she stepped outside barefoot and dressed only in a nursing gown. She looked out into the trees inhaling the piney scent of the woods of the warm summer night oblivious to the gruesome deaths in Umbrella's Arklay mountain laboratory.

The forest air was thick with the scent of the t-virus. She continued on her steady pace into the woods uncaring of the dangers that awaited her.

After all, Lady Luck was on her side tonight.

* * *

Aw, come on guys you didn't really think I'd kill Olivera did you? Hahaha!The group's troubles have not yet even begun, it might be a while before someone bites the dust.P.S. don't forget to drop a review, it's the least you cando to keep me inspired. 


	9. The Intruder

**Hello my wonderful fans. I know it's been awhile but I have finally returned. The road to my recovery wasn't expected to me this long and for that I apologize and hope you are all still with me. I thank you so much for your kind words and encouragement as I recover, I'm happy to write for such wonderful readers.**

_**--VixenVampireChick

* * *

**_

Chapter 9

An Intruder

**Arklay Forest. Eastern woods.**

**Tuesday evening.**

**9:15 p.m.**

The only noise in the forest was the constant traipsing of bare feet, caked in drying mud, twigs and blood.

The quiet should have kept her on her toes, kept her eyes sharp and her ears alert, but for whatever reason she couldn't bring herself to worry about impending danger.

Even the fog curling through the pines and skeletal birches like some ghostly serpent did nothing to curl her toes, nor raise the hairs on the back of her neck. She was still getting used the changes coursing through her, especially this calm confidence she had first suspected to be the lingering effects of a tranquilizer.

This was all so strange. So very strange.

Even without these strange new "improvements" everything slightly familiar still felt very new, especially her memories.

She needed answers.

Who besides Umbrella had them?

At least a day prior she had left the ruins of the lab with nothing but questions and a single blue file she had managed to snatch up from the doctor's forgotten clipboard with the words: **_Project Eve_**, scrawled across the front. She itched to know what information it contained but right now stopping to read was a stupid idea.

She had left the rocky mountain trail and was staring straight ahead at a dense thicket of tall pines and wide bushy undergrowth that seemed to go on forever, the fog looked even thicker ahead and the air felt even colder.

The wind whistled and cut sharply into her skin and for a moment Rain felt as though someone had punched her in the nose. She shook her head, her nostrils flaming at the scent that assaulted her.

The smell of rotting flesh and the sharp musky tang of the chemical she knew so well. The t-virus.

Virus carriers. All around, thriving here, in the deepest bowels of the forest.

Ignoring the pounding of her head she brushed aside a tree limb continuing on.

There it was again, that feeling, like-- like being ripped inside out rising in her.

A rasping snarl caught Rain's attention and the young woman looked up slightly, her eyes hooded by a wisp of hair that had caught her face.

In the silvery moonlight just at the crest of a hill and perched atop a large uprooted tree trunk, stood a large doglike animal. His yellow eyes glowing fiercely in a stark contrast with his coal-black coat with something like a warning.

Just a wolf, she realized. A regular old wolf.

By the look and scent of the animal an alpha-male, perhaps the last surviving member of his pack as he alone was standing there wearily guarding a recent kill.

A heavy breeze came once more and the creature yelped and snorted as though trying to clear his nose the way Rain had, then bounded away into the night leaving behind a deer carcass.

An odd flicker of something stirred in Rain's gut, perhaps it was pity for the poor creature that had little to no hope of escaping the widespread infection of the t-virus. Perhaps it was jealousy that it would face only death.

Her legs slowly buckled from under her and a dull burning sensation let her know the bark of the pine she sank against was biting into her bare shoulder so hard she was beginning to bleed.

It didn't matter.

Rain quietly endured the t-virus's sudden surge through her veins, almost mute but for the fierce inhales and exhales coming from flared nostrils and a muffled groan and whimper that even clenched teeth and closed mouth couldn't hold inside.

She simply watched as the skin pulsed and the diseased blood slithered within. She could feel it, dancing everywhere, face, hands, feet, lungs, head, legs, brain…

It would eat her alive and there was nothing to be done for it, nothing at all.

_Crack. _

Rain nearly jumped to her feet wheeling round, she felt a peculiar sense of déjà vu in seeing another wolf snarling down at her from the uphill trail in the same spot the other had been just minutes before.

She then noticed in the moonlight the empty right eye socket and a tangle of bleeding entrails hanging from between the creature's ribs. Even before the howls sounded she knew she was surrounded by not one, two, three or even four others.

At least thirteen.

An ivory-colored member of the pack growled, a rasping almost whispered sound perhaps affected by the fact that there was a large gaping hole where it's throat should have been. A silver-colored pack member paced restlessly at the edge of the trees, not at all hindered or seeming to notice it's own back leg gnawed away bleeding profusely.

They were even more horrible to look at in the light of the moon, an intensely macabre sight bathed in the moon's glow.

Rain's fist curled tightly at her sides as she mentally readied herself for some sort of physical attack. But they didn't move.

They seemed to be assessing her with something akin to intellect. The one with a severed throat sniffed her direction suspiciously, before inching back a bit still wearing a malicious snarl, the foam coming from his mouth pink with blood.

Her stomach quivered and Rain felt the beginnings of another bout of pain.

_No. Not now, damn it not now!_

But her mental prayer did nothing to stabilize her legs and they bowed under her causing Rain to swoon and fall. This seemed to snap the creatures into action and they all sprang for her.

Within a fraction of a second Rain was up, her hands fiercely locking around one of the predator's throats twisting its neck completely from its body, never minding the thick spray of cold coagulated blood hitting her square in the face. Another snapped for her unguarded ankle, causing Rain to pivot and kick the creature into nearby spruce tree, it's spine cracking loudly against the tree trunk.

The rest of the wolves looked surprisingly daunted but nevertheless attacked once more but within a matter of seconds lay permanently disabled.

Wet, cold, and sticky with blood Rain Ocampo had definitely seen better days, and worse ones. At least this time things were looking up, not a single bite or scratch yet.

She smirked to herself continuing to move along through the woods, with all of Umbrella's virus coursing through her blood she wasn't even sure what effect a bite would have, and she didn't want to find out.

What's this--?

She had come upon a roughened dirt road and noticed in the distance what looked like a very large house.

Maybe things were looking up.

**Prospero Mansion**

**Wednesday morning**

**9:24 a.m.**

All the air conditioning within the mansion was running full blast, but several units were offline and most of the units online were located in the main hall where the air was coolest anyway, leaving the hall uncomfortably frigid and the rest of the house blazing.

The pool had been deemed off limits by Alice since she hadn't the time to inspect the chlorinated water tanks that regularly drained, cleaned and filled the pool with new water. The tanks, she suspected, were connected to a ground water pipe from a nearby mountain spring that was probably contaminated with Umbrella's poison. She wasn't taking any chances in allowing the group to swim even if chlorine could kill the virus she wouldn't risk it.

She did allow the group however to settle onto the balcony of the third floor. Flying predators were scarce during the day, she'd see a threat before it made it within two hundred yards of anyone.

The air was outside was a bit muggy and only the shade made it any better, still it was good to breathe in the fresh air after so many days cooped inside.

Angie stayed inside, her reason being fear of Belladonna's safety. Into the first hour of the group's relaxation on the roof the curious cat had wandered to the edge of balcony, squeezing a paw through the railing to paw at a resting ladybug, before long the feline had squeezed her whole husky midsection through, unaware of her likely tumble of a full fifty feet to the ground.

It was L.J. who saved the feline from an ugly end and after an ecstatic thank you, the cat was promptly taken by Angie inside where it was safer to play.

Jill followed her inside but returned a few minutes later, continuing this every couple of hours to check on Angie. She'd then linger on thebalcony with the others, leaning against the spiral railing. The day was darkening and knowing Alice, she would recommend retiring inside soon, as one pair of eyes with nocturnal vision was not enough. But the cooler night air was coming and it was too inviting to leave the wonderful comfort of the outdoors. In a few hours, she'd be more than willing.

When the sun became a red glow in the sky steadily sinking, Carlos peered down into the edge of the trees noticing flickers of movement that strayed to the edge of the hill the house stood on. "Well, looks like we've got dinner guests."

Sure enough about four wolf-like creatures had discovered the carcass of their 'houseguests' and were voraciously ripping them apart.

"Wolves?" Jill asked craning her neck to get a better look.

"Dogs," Alice corrected. She had forgotten how terrible human eyesight was until Jill's question. The dogs snapped their bleeding and rotting jaws amongst one another squabbling over the meat, their diseased eyes a sickening milky brown. "Security dogs."

At the mention of dogs L.J. looked disgusted. "Sent after us?"

Alice turned from the railing convinced there was little to worry about. "Don't think so, they're infected, just following the smell of food. It's going to attract virus carriers from miles around."

L.J answered Jill's question of safety before she could even ask. "Don't matter. House is on lock-down, nothin' comin' in or goin' out. Right?"

"At least for now," Alice confirmed.

No sooner had the sentence left her mouth did an excruciating pain sweep through Alice Prospero, knocking her feet right from under her and slamming her head to the balcony pavement.

Carlos was the first at her side knocking aside a lawn chair in his excitement. "Alice!"

Someone was screaming her name outside, trying to get her attention. She couldn't-- she couldn't--

"_**Alice…"**_

Their fallen comrade lay with wide-blue eyes that seemed unseeing, her mouth half-open and a long trickle of blood seeped from her nose and the side of her mouth. She shook violently, seizuring in a deep catatonic state.

Jill patted the unconscious woman's cheeks firmly looking just as frightened as Carlos, her composure slipping rapidly from her. "Alice! Alice! Can you hear me?"

A flood of images burned through Alice's brain. The flaming memories burning, scarring themselves into her vision.

…Matt tackling her in the dark night, throwing her to the hard marble floor as the windows shattered from the impact of smoke bombs propelled through them.

"_**Alice…"**_

She gave no response but a moan and her eyes squeezed shut only to snap open again looking as vacant as ever.

The putrid, dank sewers…the sounds of dripping water earsplitting.

"_**Are you there?" **_

…A gunshot ringing through the slimy tunnel…

…A wavering red image resembling a small child, hard eyes accusing but calm. _"You're all going to die down here…"_

"_**Alice…"**_

"Alice!"

With a wheezing inhale of air Alice snapped awake, her eyes wild and wide with fear and confusion. She was breathing in short, sharp breaths.

Carlos soothed her by gently caressing her back. "Easy there, deep breaths… Slowly…"

Alice's only response was a fearful wide-eyed look, she opened her mouth to speak but no sound came forth besides more wheezing breaths.

"What?" L.J. wondered trying his best to decipher Alice's message from her quivering mouth.

"Come on now, deep breaths," Jill reminded her.

Ignoring their concern Alice tried to stand only to stagger into the balcony's railing. Carlos gripped her hand pulling her from the edge before she plunged off the building. "Someone's--I…in my head…hear…" she rambled. "Someone's…

That voice…the strong one, it was still rattling her brain, but gradually it was clearing and with a small tug she asked Carlos to let go, he complied hesitantly.

Jill was the first to voice her confusion. "What?"

"Someone's inside my head…showing me things…memories…"

The three exchanged looks of confusion.

Carlos stepped into Alice's line of vision to get her attention as her eyes seemed to wander again. "It's just the virus, showing you memories, hallucinations, it's got to be a sided-effect of what Umbrella did to you."

Alice's coordination seemed to be returning as she released the railing. "No, this is different, this is real and it's close…When I was in Umbrella's lab I could hear Angie, speaking to me."

"Talking to you? Through your head? Angie never said--

"Angie didn't know. She wasn't calling for me intentionally, but her mind…I could hear her still, remembering me, worrying for me. It was like a whisper."

"Like this new voice?"

"No, this new one is loud, unbearably loud, powerful. It knows me, it said my name…and it's--"

There was a clear sound of glass shattering and it echoed from inside the house.

Everyone stilled, eyes wide in horror before Alice responded.

Alice visibly paled. "It's in the house."

"Valentine! Wait!"

Jill was already out of sight, gun in hand, either unhearing or ignoring Carlos's calls.

Before the others were a whole six feet inside a gunshot echoed through the house. Still the group went flying down the main stair to the grand hall.

Jill had whipped out her pistol and was striding with purpose down the hall. Angie was not within sight but Jill had immediately noticed the intruder who thankfully didn't seem undead.

"Hands on your head and come into the light slowly or I swear I'll blow your damn head off,"she warned.

When the figure in the shadow of the corridor didn't move Jill clicked off the safety of the gun loudly to give further warning. An Umbrella mercenary for hire obviously had somehow made it inside. The figure had her back turned to Jill but it was clear this was a woman before she even turned around and came from the cover of the dark.

Covered from head to toe in blood and haggardly dressed in what looked a lot like a hospital gown the dark-haired woman began stalking towards her, deep dark eyes that looked slightly mad focused on Jill.

Perhaps the woman was infected but the sureness of her steps suggested otherwise.

From somewhere behind her Jill heard L.J.'s surprised cry.

"Don't move dammit!"

Carlos had slunk down the corridor undetected and now stood aiming his own weapon behind the woman, less than four feet away. The man was already a pretty good shot, the woman surely wasn't stupid enough to assume she could avoid such a sure shot. "You heard her, do it now!"

Surprisingly the woman did halt her footsteps and slowly inclined her head to the sound of Carlos cocking his weapon.

Then faster than a blink the woman turned with a fierce roundhouse kick that sent Carlos Olivera spinning and followed through with a vicious backhand and he sank to the floor unmoving.

"WHAT THE FUCK!" L.J. mouthed.

Jill couldn't stop her jaw from dropping in surprise, it had only taken a split second for Olivera to be disarmed. It was incredible.

It was _inhuman_.

Only Alice moved so quickly and to be honest, this woman was probably a whole lot quicker.

Where the hell was Alice anyway!

The woman bent briefly, snatching from Olivera's belt a silver hunting knife.

Jill fired once aiming at a kneecap and still the woman approached her strangely calm and unfaltering, Jill fired again aiming for the other knee getting the same result and not a mark on her target. Time and time again, shot after shot failed and it dawned on the ex-cop catching an odd blur of movement that there was nothing at all wrong with her aim.

The woman was _dodging_ the bullets somehow!

She hadn't even noticed L.J. too was firing shots from the staircase. The woman uttered a growl of surprise and pain as blood trickled from her shoulder where L.J. hadn't missed.

The hunting knife came sailing through the air, the heavy silver handle slamming L.J. directly into the forehead knocking him unconscious.

Jill didn't waste a moment, she squeezed the trigger of her own gun and there was a faint echo of an empty chamber.

The intruder smiled sweetly and Jill could have sworn her eyes glinted like a tiger's.

"My turn."

* * *


	10. FriendFoe?

**Hello my dears, sorry for the wait and thank you all for your reading and support. Hoepfully I haven't lost too many fans.

* * *

**

Chapter 10

**Project Eve**

In response to the woman's words Jill narrowed her eyes with hatred. She had known this would happen, Umbrella would find them and it would all be over.

She was now mentally cursing herself for trusting Alice, it was a foolish plan to be here in this place and now it was too late to leave.

They were dead now.

And Angie, what had this woman done to Angie?

"If you've hurt that little girl I'll--" Jill threatened.

CRACK!

When Jill's vision cleared and the ringing in her ears subsided she looked up at the woman looming over her. Her hand stroked the throbbing right side of her jaw realizing she'd been knocked to the ground.

"Shut up," the woman hissed with the same low growling tone as before, "or the next time you open your mouth I swear I'll break your neck."

Jill stared in rage and more than a little bit of anger at her helpless situation.

"Where's Alice?"

The ex-cop wasn't surprised to hear such a question. Despite Alice's abandonment of the group to this woman, she definitely wasn't going to make an Umbrella's soldier's job any easier.

"Fuck you."

Another hard blow caught Jill across her temple and her vision swam.

The woman folded her arms in front of her face never minding the heavy trickling of blood sticking wetly to her face. "Ask yourself this question: do you want to live or die like every other Umbrella employee?"

Jill found herself frozen, it was more than her words spoken with a quiet murderous certainty but those eyes seemed completely without humanity.

An odd thing for an Umbrella soldier to declare about killing their own.

Perhaps a strange baiting game?

"What? Umbrella's--

Before Jill could finish a shot rang out and the woman's eyes widened, three more shots were fired. The intruder blinking slowly stunned, her now clouded brown eyes rolled to the back of her head and she dropped heavily to the floor.

"Are you all right?"

Alice tucked her gun into the holster on her slim hips.

Jill nodded hastily standing. "Took you long enough." she said unable to help the bitterness that tinged her words.

Grimly Alice surveyed the hall. "There were enough people rushing in here blindly. "

"Did you find--?

"Angie is in the library safe and sound. Sleeping."

She offered Jill a hand, still cross about their current situation Jill ignored it. Alice didn't notice, or else didn't care. Her attention was directed to their intruder.

In one of Alice's hands she carried a long, thick, linked chain and in the other the weapon used to put down the woman. It was unlike any gun Jill had ever seen before. It was a slender long weapon, transparent enough to see the round within the skinny barrel, a small cartridge filled with silver liquid that bore a gleaming point at the end.

"That's a sedative."

A moan from Carlos caught Alice's attention before she answered Jill. "When she comes to, she'll find moving much more difficult than usual. Goes straight to the nervous system, she'll be as clumsy as a newborn."

Carlos found himself startled out of his daze at a tentative touch on his shoulder.

"Are you alright?"

He answered with a small nod before standing.

Jill was outraged and ready to shoot Alice herself but instead settled for pressing her point. "You're pretty damn calm considering our current circumstances."

Alice gave no response entirely focused on the woman lying unconscious on the ground, binding her with chains.

"Did you not see that thing move?! That _woman_ isn't human. We have to get out of here, our cover is blown. Umbrella knows we're here."

"No," Alice answered back sternly, "we need answers. Her abilities are all the more reason to keep her here, at least until she talks. We run out of here like scared rabbits, they keep the advantage."

Jill opened her mouth to protest but closed it soon after, her jaw clenching hard did nothing to ease the pain of earlier abuse.

It was incomprehensible, no it was worse than that. It was just plain stupid. She had reluctantly agreed to come here and hide, against every instinct she had to put as many miles between herself and anything having to do with Umbrella.

"What the hell are we supposed to gain from this?! Get a fucking clue, if she got in, how are supposed to keep _anything_ out anymore?!"

Nearly giving in to what would only become a useless shouting match Alice spied something odd. Valentine, clearly disgusted, instead made herself useful by helping L.J. come around to consciousness.

The woman had fallen in a heap, long dark hair smothering her facial features and against pale skin just as the nape of the neck were the small black letters and numbers reading: P.G.E. 001#.

The ink was done in the same fashion as tagged animals Alice had seen in Umbrella's laboratories. Alice traced the letters faintly hoping to trigger some memory as to the letters.

"Familiar?"

Carlos knew it to be a useless question even before Alice answered, she looked just as perplexed as he.

Brushing strands of hair from the woman's veiled face Alice's nearly stopped breathing. She had always been one to expect the unexpected, but nothing in the world could have prepared her for this…

Clearly she was hallucinating, it wasn't unusual, it was a slight side effect of the virus to hear things or see things that weren't there, it happened every once in a while.

"Oh my god."

The choked whisper was enough to still both Olivera and Valentine.

Rain. This woman was Rain Ocampo.

She was due for one. Yes that was it. Normally a firm head shake would clear the image from her mind and vision. But no matter how much she shook her head this particular hallucination wasn't going anywhere.

"You know her," Jill deciphered.

Alice had always been one to expect the unexpected, but nothing in the world could have prepared her for this…

Clearly she was hallucinating, it wasn't unusual it was a slight side effect of the virus to hear things or see things that weren't there, it happened every once in a while. Why not now? Normally a firm head shake would clear the image from her mind and vision but no matter how much she shook her head this particular hallucination wasn't going away.

Rain Ocampo, lying on the cold marble floor, somewhere between unconsciousness and pain-filled awareness.

"How--?"

Jill, obviously through with any more surprises the past few days had delivered began to shout, "Who the hell is she?"

"Yeah," L.J piped, "what the hell is going on?"

"Her name is Rain Ocampo, she's an Umbrella mercenary."

What surprised the rest of them was it was Carlos Olivera who spoke. He didn't meet anyone's questioning gaze, he seemed oblivious to anything but studying Rain.

"_Was_ an Umbrella mercenary," Alice corrected. She felt it important to address such a thing, Rain wasn't anymore willfully an Umbrella soldier than Olivera was. "They didn't-- they couldn't. How did this happen?"

Carlos watched Alice with a softened gaze assessing her expression. How her blue eyes had darkened, taking her back to some past memory she had long tried to bury.

Rain's eyebrows knitted and she unconsciously attempted to roll over onto her other side coughing a short spray of blood up.

Alice rushed forward only to be stopped by Carlos's hand to her shoulder.

"Don't Alice, something's wrong here," he warned. He raised his gun toward the fallen mercenary. "Umbrella's obviously behind this. She's dangerous, she's a bio-weapon.."

Alice barely heard him she was too busy remembering, opening the scars of the past. _"But there's a chance right?"_ Rain's husky voice rung through her mind.

Tearing his grip from her Alice steely replied, "Yeah, just like me." Her eyes coldly focused on the gun as if daring Carlos to shoot.

No one else bothered to come forward, both Jill and Carlos with iron-grips on their weapons.

The pale subject began to tremble and cough weakly, wriggling with a wide gaping mouth like a fish out of water.

Alice was surprised at how unguarded she became to come to Rain's side. If this being even was Rain.

Even with this information, Alice picked up her gun tucking it back into the hoister behind her. She knelt next to Rain touching her forehead gingerly.

"Rain…"

Rain's erratic trembling grew more frenzied. Alice felt a memory jolt her.

"_I don't want to be one of those things walking around without a soul…_

"You won't," Alice heard herself promise all over again only barely aware she had spoken aloud. "It's all right. It's all right."

She lightly touched Rain's wrist to access them, Alice already knew what she would find, she could smell the infection on Rain's skin, the way she could smell it on Angie, still Alice watched the veins ripple. Pulsing…with Umbrella's poison…

"She's infected," Alice reported and everyone could hear the wild anger in her voice.

Jill frowned. "Like you and Angie or like one of those things?"

The scent of the T-virus in a human subject like Angie and herself was different then the musky skunkish smell coming from a "zombie". Rain's skin smelled familiarly and faintly of chlorine.

Alice did not respond immediately now examining the flower-shaped red markings riddling Rain's forearm, "Like me but..." She looked closer particularly at the various holes and stitched cuts tattooing her midsection. "Stranger."

It was nearly six o'clock and nothing else out of the ordinary had happened. Despite Alice's double check of the mansion's security and the knowledge the others had of the extensive kitchens, bedrooms and bathrooms they had not left one another for more than a half hour to shower or eat, even then Alice was sure some sort of buddy system had been organized. Rain's unexpected and unexplained impossible entrance had left them feeling very vulnerable and a bit high-strung in Alice's opinion.

Angie was all right, apparently she'd only suffered a small fainting spell in the heat. As for Rain, she was being tended to.

They all resided within the downstairs living room. L.J. had found a deck of cards to fill the time and was quietly shuffling them, over and over again, from the card table in the far corner of the room. Jill sat on the sofa with her legs folded under her nearest to Angie who had fallen asleep in front of the television, a red-checkered blanket draped over her.

Carlos played idly with a hunting knife in a sofa chair to Jill's right lost in thought it seemed.

The house's owner had not left Rain's side for hours keeping constant vigil speaking softly to her, the woman had not regained consciousness and her trembles persisted, a light sheen of sweat on her skin.

"How's she doing?" Jill asked unable to stand the quiet any longer.

"She's…getting worse," Alice answered trying her best to sound matter-of-factly.

"She's not going to wake up and start chomping on people is she?" L.J. inquired.

Wringing out a cool cloth Alice placed it upon Rain's forehead. "Can't be sure if her body's rejecting the anti-virus or the virus. Or both. Her system is overloaded, regeneration may just kill her."

"Why?"

Alice shrugged. "She's been extensively pumped with it, much more than myself. I guess they would have to in order to regenerate her body this much." She gingerly turned Rain's resting head to the side studying a large closed wound on her throat.

The laughter of the television floating through the room made the silence that much more eerie.

"Those are teeth marks," Jill noticed coming from the couch to further examine the mark.

"Yeah," Alice confirmed quietly.

Alice did not meet her gaze.

"She was killed in that place, the Hive?"

Alice only nodded still refusing her gaze.

"I promised we would make it out. The five of us. Spence, Matt, Kaplan, Rain and me. Rain died on the train from the virus."

"The others?" Jill asked.

"Spence betrayed us, let the virus loose, left us for dead. Luckily the Red Queen left a guard dog for him."

Jill could have sworn she saw a twitch of a smile upon Alice's face. She thought to ask about what was a Red Queen but listened on instead.

"It got Kaplan on the train. Matt and I fought it off. Rain didn't make it, even with the anti-virus she was too far gone, he was forced to shoot her. They took Matt and I at the mansion before I could get the anti-virus to him."

She fell silent and they all sat stunned at the revelation of Alice.

Carlos asked. "What happened to Matt?"

"Nemesis," was all Alice said.

They knew Umbrella was cruel and remorseless and somehow they were still further surprised by how cruel and remorseless.

"So they're trying to use Rain now," Carlos said.

"How do you know Rain?"

Carlos did not seem the slightest bit unnerved by Jill's sudden interrogation. "I don't. Heard of her team. One's team was just that, number one in combat and rescue in Umbrella, heard they went into the hive. Eight Umbrella mercenaries, two women, six men: James Shade aka One: team captain, Anna Liston, a medic specialist, Brett Mason and Cameron Haas, tech support operatives, Chad Kaplan, a computer tech specialist, a sniper named J.D. Salinas and a combat search and rescue specialist Rain Ocampo. They gave us pictures of them, case we found them in the city."

This answer seemed to satisfy both women especially Alice.

"They must have found her on the train, altered the virus to give her life again somehow. But why?"

* * *

Rain Ocampo was getting tired of waking up to pain and confusion. At least she was warm now but also chained once more. The room was quiet and smelled of lemons and despite it all, the most powerful sensation she felt was one of hunger.

The dark room looked empty but Rain's preternatural senses knew better, twisting round to lie on her back and craning her head round Rain found herself looking directly at a familiar face. The face looked fuzzy from Rain's pain and fatigue but definitely someone she knew.

"Alice," Rain found herself murmuring but not without suspicion.

Alice continued to stare without a word for several moments, like her old friend not sure what to make of it. She finally nodded, a slow cautious one.

Rain winced with the effort it took to prop herself against the nearest wall. She looked smug despite her current situation. "You gonna to shoot me Prospero?"

Alice tightened her grip on the gun at her side. "If I have to." She took her eyes away from the gun to search Rain's face, hoping for something familiar within them, something she could trust. "Give me a reason not to."

She was pleading with Rain, or this creature pretending to be Rain to reveal itself and make this all go away without bloodshed. She wasn't ready for something so raw and familiar.

"Because I'm trying to help you Alice, I can help you."

Alice's grip tightened on her weapon in an instant and her expression was cold. "You came for me, Umbrella programmed you to find me." She came crouching challenging Rain with a snarl. "Who are you? How did you come to look like Rain Ocampo?"

Rain stared incredulously at Alice and the gun in her grip before dropping her head and a faint trembling shook her shoulders and it was a few moments before Alice realized Rain was laughing like a madman.

"Stop it! There's nothing funny about this!" Alice snapped.

Rain's laughter sobered a bit but she still wore a small smile. "I may have overreacted a bit. Breaking in here with a rescue mission in mind may not have been necessary, huh?"

Alice narrowed her eyes in response to the question. "You tried to kill my friends."

"Believe me Prospero, if I wanted them dead they would be cold and lifeless by now. Let me also point out I'm the one with the fucking holes in me aren't I?"

This revelation was wavering Alice's will to shot her captive and Rain continued speaking: "Excuse me for believing I'm the first one owed an apology."

Alice sank to the floor completely unable to help but relax and believe and trust in what her heart was certain was her old comrade. "I've treated your wounds, you'll be fine with some rest and food in a few weeks time."

"A few bullets aren't going to take me down," she smiled sardonically. "You and I are made of stronger stuff aren't we?"

Alice responded with her own sad smile and watched with true sympathy a long trickle of sweat pour down Rain's face as she released a long shuddering breath.

She believed her. She didn't know how or why but she was certain this was Rain, beaten, bruised and virus-altered but still Rain.

"You're really here…It's really you."

Rain raised her brows sharply at those words. "Who else would I be?"

A hiss came and looking down at Rain's bound hands Alice noticed the tell-tale slither of the t-virus plaguing underneath Rain's skin.

"Rain… What did they do to you?"

Wearily she replied: "Testing, you know Umbrella, they love a good experiment." She gave up on leaning against the wall and allowed herself to slide down until she was lying on her back and Alice could see her fighting to stay awake. "Predictable arrogant bastards didn't think I'd be such a success."

Alice couldn't help but laugh at more than Rain's words but the relief and joy and even absurdity of the situation. She felt tears threatening to surface at this granted mercy they had somehow received but she didn't allow them knowing how Ocampo wasn't one for heartfelt moments, even while still under the effects of tranquilizers.

"At the train…I…didn't make it, did I?"

Alice wasn't expecting Rain's clearly still clouded mind to piece together such a thing so soon. "They brought me back too, once. And still I feel like I never knew that Alice, the one before Umbrella."

"Maybe pieces of us don't make it back the second time around."

Alice hadn't expected a response and dispute the gloomy words she was comforted Rain seemed to know what she meant.

"Get some rest."

But before Alice could get the words completely out Rain was fast asleep.

_Six hours later..._

"So what now?"

It was obvious Jill was still annoyed with Alice's reaction to the previous night's incident.

The group had found themselves in the library of the mansion where Alice had gathered them. She was thankful Rain still slept thanks to a heavy dosage of tranquilizers that even Rain's new abilities weren't immune to. She was forced to keep the woman heavily drugged due to the pain of her still evolving abilities, it was for the best, she was healing rapidly, another day or two and she'd be as healthy as possible, that is, once the virus finished running it's course too.

Sunlight poured in from the enormous glass window covered in wrought iron bars bathing those sitting at the conference-like mahogany table in a comforting warmth they rarely experienced these days. Alice stood facing them, a blue folder frayed and burnt in one hand.

"From all evidence gathered, Rain Ocampo escaped from a research lab a few days ago, killing everyone inside. The attack on the mansion premeditated however fueled by a misunderstanding, she assumed I was being held here by Umbrella scientists. In such close proximity of the lab and considering the trauma of her capture I'm sure few of us would have reacted differently."

No one spoke for a good moment or two before Olivera sat forward, "you said she was one of those things before, you saw her turn. That means there's a cure now. Like the ultimate cure."

Alice frowned, realizing the hopeful tone was one fueled by ignorance. No one seemed to hear her softly speak. "It's not."

L.J. was the first to catch Carlos' epiphany. "We could steal it."

"That lab has to be close and with that woman and Alice, a few days time we could over take them," Jill added. "Turn this whole thing in our favor."

"No!"

The sudden shout from Alice shocked them all.

She threw the file onto the table in disgust. "You have no idea what you're proposing. We don't know at what cost this _'cure' _was made, what it's capable of making anyone become. This may become something worse than the T-virus. Much worse."

Alice was grateful no one followed her out as she made a straight beeline to her room and locked the door allowing her knees to buckle and her head to fall to the beige carpeted floor.

No one witnessed the darkened blue eyes become a grave blue and red hexagon.

It was comforting to allow those thoughts surface.

Alice felt herself stand, a sensation like floating in her limbs, she felt her fingers wrap around the trigger of a magnum at the bedside and she couldn't figure out why she hadn't done this sooner...

She had to find Valentine. The program demanded it.


	11. Program Alice

Hello! It's been quite sometime since I updated, years even and I feel I must apologize for my absence, please refer to my profile page for any information involving my absence, thank you for your support and love it's good to be back!

**_PROGRAM ALICE_**

Fear.

Somehow she remembered what that was. Somewhere deep, deep down inside it lived, perhaps taking refuge in the only part of her that remained human. It was a tiny thing that was barely registered as a flutter for the most part since Rain's awakening, a flutter that Rain was beginning to believe would eventually cease to exist, snuffed out like a candle the more Umbrella's poison worked through her body.

Funny how quickly that fear exploded like fire and ash until her body climbed into a smoldering fever pitch of terror. Terror she couldn't begin to understand _**why**_ she was feeling.

She had to move. Now.

Her heart was roaring in her ears and for a moment blind panic swallowed her and Rain found herself flailing frantically in her chains. Someone had bound her as she slept, her eyes scanned the darkened room and she vaguely realized she'd seen this room before when she had broken in. She was on the basement level of the mansion in a nearly bare room, the only furniture in sight a small end table, a tall cherry wood bookcase that kitty cornered the sparse room and a large queen sized bed someone was nice enough to tuck her into before shackling her tightly to the iron wrought railings of the gargantuan thing.

The chains went taut as a bowstring but gave nothing with every pull and jerk of her wrists, chaffing her and making her more desperate and wild with each useless clang.

The drugs Alice hit her with were still clearly in effect.

"Hey, hey, hey!" She managed to call out.

There was no answer but Rain's keen hearing easily picked up bits and pieces of muffled sounds from the floor above. A dog barking, police sirens and slurred conversation all the while like a broken record someone shouting, _'on the ground, on the ground!'_

She vaguely wondered how the hell those idiots found something as stupid as _Cops_ entertaining anymore after what adventure they'd been through with Raccoon City being plagued with gun fire, death and horror.

Rain shouted once more in fury and pain trying her best to slip her reddened and bleeding wrists through her bounds.

_Well, look on the bright side Rain, you'll be dead again soon enough at this rate._

"Hey."

Rain whipped round at the sound of someone addressing her.

It was the woman. Jen, Joan or something. She was staring at her from the open door of the room. Her stance was easy leaned up against the door frame, arms crossed and an unlit cigarette in her hand.

"Calm down," Jill instructed, her expression guarded and deeply suspicious.

Jill was surprised and a little ill at ease seeing their intruder awake. Not just awake, wide awake turning wide brown eyes complete with a glassy gaze fixed on the ex-cop. Wrists oozing and shaking in tandem with Rain's trembling breath.

"Let me out of these things," Rain said quickly. "Something's wrong, I need to- I just need out, something's--" Rain's entire body was quaking as her heart climbed in it's desperate pounding. Whatever it was she sensed unconsciously was getting closer and somehow she knew there wasn't much time. "Quick, now! I can't--"

She was flailing desperately now and roaring in frustration and babbling like a madman.

"Just stop okay?" Jill tried. "You're still pretty dazed from the drugs, you're going to hurt yourself. You've got to calm down."

It was the same tone of voice Jill found herself using occasionally on head cases on her 2 am calls. Firm and full of authority but compassion. Men she'd find crying on Raccoon City Bridge dressed in pretty pink silk robes and shiny champagne blonde wigs damp with sweat, pores emitting the stench of hard liquor always threatening to jump. Women waving kitchen knives at unfaithful husbands as the children watched amongst spilled Cheerios and broken jars of spaghetti sauce. She always saved the day in those situations. She was a great negotiator and she only hoped those skills could be used to reason with an unstable bio-weapon who wasn't going to be contained any longer.

"You've been through a pretty traumatic ordeal it's normal to be a little restless and paranoid an-

Rain could barely hear Jill speaking to her, stupidly measured and calm, her heart was much too loud. The ex-Umbrella mercenary vaguely wondered, if she stretched herself further down the side of the bed, Jill was close enough to plant her foot through her face and take the keys she spotted waving out the cop's jean pocket.

She knew she wasn't.

"Much as I'd love to listen to you play the role of Dr. Fuckin' Phil if you don't let me out something's going to-

Rain suddenly quieted, face covered in a cold sweat. She managed to put her knees directly under her belly allowing her to slip into a kneeling position on the mattress, she thought it'd make her feel less vulnerable.

It didn't.

Taking advantage of the quiet Jill continued carefully, "you're hallucinating Rain. It's a side effect to the drugs we gave to help your pain. If you just calm down I can--

She met Rain's eyes. Rich, earth brown replaced with sickly sea of blue, crystalline blue she knew belonged only to the dead. Jill's sense of dread deepened and she was pretty sure she knew the cause of it as she watched Rain's skin ripple and serpentine more quickly. And she seemed to be listening, straining for something…

Jill's cigarette had fallen to the floor forgotten and instead her handgun took it's place. She gave Rain a wide berth coming to stand at the foot of the bed but Rain wasn't looking at her or her gun anymore.

"Rain?"

Jill wasn't sure the woman's name really even made it out of her mouth or not but it didn't matter. Carefully, she raised her gun and pulled the trigger.

In nanoseconds, Rain had whipped herself sideways, pulling her chains taut, the bullet meant for her flesh ripping through her steel chains. She fixed her cold blue eyes on Jill wordlessly moving towards her.

"Shit," Jill murmured.

Officer Valentine has been many things in her career as a police officer. Reckless, stubborn and tough as nails were as familiar as her own name. Badges of courage, these nicknames, as she'd definitely earned them.

But the badge of fool was not a badge she'd ever earned nor wanted to.

So in looking into the now undead eyes of Umbrella's most dangerous bio-weapon who easily dodged bullets she did the only thing she could think of doing.

Run.

Jill had barely flown out of the room when she collided with a wall. Head swimming from the impact, she blinked dumbly to clear her head.

Maybe if she hadn't been pumped so full of fear and the need to retreat she would have noticed how flesh like her wall had felt before she looked up. No, more like flesh encasing concrete, as the figure didn't move or even flinch from the impact while Jill felt as though someone had struck her body with a sledgehammer and she was almost certain her ankle sprained badly by the odd way she'd fallen.

"Alice!"

Before the name tumbled from her mouth Jill knew something was wrong.

Alice didn't reply, just fixed the short haired brunette in that same odd faraway look as Rain had, her face eerily blank. Her whole body drenched in something scarlet and viscous, drowning in it. Then a tiny twitch of facial movement turned to a malicious grin.

_Oh god._

Jill's eyes caught the glint of the blade of a fire ax dragged along in Alice's hand leaving droplets of crimson liquid on the beige carpet.

With her free hand the mad blonde gripped Jill's injured ankle and squeezed pulling her easily along all the while adjusting the grip on her fire ax with her other hand.

The ex-cop swung with a vicious backhand as Alice approached.

The force of blow should have been shattering, but Alice didn't even wince, in fact she didn't move at all.

Jill saw actual stars when Alice's blow came, her neck nearly snapped with it's force.

She wondered in those moments before death if she'd gone insane. No life flashing before her eyes, no thoughts of loved ones or even a sudden urge to cry for help crossed her mind.

Just the absurdity of how Carrie-like their leader looked all covered in blood as the ax came plunging down.

When the blow did not come Jill snapped her eyes open in time to see Alice fall and Rain standing over the deranged blonde with two clenched fist, eyes hard and brown once more.

"Run," Rain demanded not taking her eyes off Alice. "Get the hell out of here _now_!"

Scrambling to her feet and ignored the hammering pain in her injured leg Jill ran wheezing in both pain and exertion the whole way up. Once she had stumbled into the darkened corridor of the great hall there was the sound of a gunshot coming from below.

And another.

A scream. Unlike any she'd ever heard either woman sound before, nor one she'd ever thought a human being capable of.

Didn't mean the sound wasn't familiar at all. In fact she hadn't stopped hearing it in her dreams since the night they fled into the Raccoon City's Catholic church.

Had Alice mutated into some sort of monster or Rain?

She didn't want to think about it, or what would happen when one or the other fell. Umbrella's virus had obviously finally succeeded in eating away all traces of Alice's humanity and that meant Rain was sure to follow at any given time.

Alice was lost and Rain…

She thought no more of either hobbling up the great staircase.

A bang from the library door and another from the study and there was Olivera, followed by Angie and L.J. close behind.

There was a click of a barrel as Olivera frowned darkly. "What the hell was that? Where's Alice?"

Wildly, Jill shook her head. "It doesn't matter now, we have to get out of here."

"We can't leave Alice!" Angie protested tightening her grip on the cat in her arms.

Angie let out a squeak of protest when Jill reached for her pulling her down the stairs with them, the two men hesitantly following.

Another desperate scream, this one more human but no more reassuring.

"That's Alice!"

"She's gone!" Jill spat harshly. Her fingers were flying at the security code and a ticking of chainlink followed, as the panels of the windows lifted, the panels of the entry way to the basement level slid shut muffling the violent scuffle below. "Don't be an idiot! She'll kill you, she tried to kill me!"

Olivera said nothing but shut his eyes in obvious anguish before moving to the double doors of the front. The daylight that poured in from the nearby window offered little more light than previous for shooting.

It was all quiet again.

L.J. found himself fingering his gun worriedly the longer the quiet stretched and they hadn't moved. Why weren't they moving?

"We should go right?"

The ex cop agreed. Jill's fingers had barely grazed the knob of the doorway when a deafening pounding started. The paneled entry way to the basement dimpling into craters with each pound.

"Oh my god."

The emergence of scarlet-colored talons was what they saw before they heard the screaming of them against steel paneling, the steel peeling like old paint in long sizable ribbons.

Alice emerged, almost slinking if not for the way she seemed slightly off balance, eyes nailed to the frozen forms at the double doors.

Her free hand mutated, slim, elongated talons flexing lightly as she moved was not, to Angela Ashford, the most concerning matter. But the hollow sound of that fire-ax in the other hand licking the polished marble was by far the most frightening sound Angie had ever heard in her life and that was saying a lot when one had survived the nightmare of Raccoon City.

That noise would haunt her more than the glint of the ax, hungry for more blood for Alice to crown her already sticky coppered locks.

That's when the window broke.

Hands struggling to grasp living flesh exploding through.

The dead had reached the house.

Angie barely felt the lance of pain as Belladonna sunk her claws into her skin and flew from her arms fleeing for safety.

"Bella!"

Jill seized Angie's wrist tighter using the child's forward moving momentum to pull Angie behind her towards a far corner wall. She drew her pistol, barely noticing both L.J. and Olivera already ahead of her actions.

She chanced rounding towards the broken window squeezing off several rounds succeeding in nailing several dead. She grimaced with each squeeze of the trigger watching the brain matter fly, she was almost sick with the smell.

_My clips! Where the hell are my clips?!_

She spotted the fallen clips in the middle of the hall and moved to retrieve them before Alice noticed. But the woman was obviously fixed on L.J. and Olivera who had found themselves with little choice but to start shooting.

With the window clear Jill hurriedly chanced a peek and her heart sunk. More were approaching the house in droves the steep hillside barely slowing the pathetic creatures more than usual. Very soon they would be overrun.

Bullets spraying through marble alerted her to more urgent matters, Alice had not slowed her movement even as bullet after bullet hit the small woman in her legs and arms, she barely twitched even as she bled.

"Alice! Alice just- Alice come on, snap out of this!! Come on--Ali- put down the ax, please, we don't want to hurt you!! You don't want to hurt us either!"

And now the blonde bio-weapon had decided she'd had enough. She was on Olivera, seizing his weapon, backhanding the soldier brutally and landing a knee to his ribs,. L.J. had run forward gun drawn but Alice had been ready with a powerful slug to the face then arcing a powerful kick to the man's chest before hailing him up and simply tossing him across the hall like a rag doll where he landed with a crack.

"L.J.!" Jill called.

The beaten man didn't move, a thin trail of blood trickling down from his temple and worse…

CLANG!

The window had completely given away as more dead swarmed it.

"Alice! Alice stop! Alice what's wrong with you?"

She didn't answer but raised her ax again to Carlos with that same blank look.

Hurriedly Jill aimed her weapon for Alice's skull, sorry before she even fired, when a frigid hand clamped her shoulder.

An Arklay forest camper, teeth marks in the grey-green tissue that had once been the man's nose, the unfortunate camper still donning a fadded orange baseball cap with the words 'Save a cow, eat a vegetarian!' ironically.

Jill screamed when another grabbed hold of her other arm flailing to get the creatures off and control of her weapon, only managing to fire it into a hanging lamp.

"Jill!" Angie screamed huddling closer to her corner of refuge.

It only managed to call the three remaining dead inside the house attention to the redheaded child.

Through the swarm, Jill spotted Olivera with gritted teeth and closed eyes on his back, wriggling painfully and with the same futile effort as a flipped tortoise. The dead had not seemed to notice the activity further down the hallway but it wouldn't matter anyway Alice would make sure Olivera met the same fate as Angela Ashford and Jill Valentine.

Jill broke lose from camper's hold slamming an elbow to the corpse's face, dislodging the jaw completely before finishing with a hard twist snapping the neck. Her shooting arm free, she finished another with a bullet to the skull and another and another.

The former police officer didn't even slow down as she trampled over fallen corpses to the sound of Angela Ashford's screams and one by one the dead round the child fell, a bullet at a time, the last taking three.

She was free for the moment and swiftly reloading her 9mm.

But she hadn't seen the downed pudgy bald man who was quick to snatch at Jill's exposed ankle and she quickly meet the marble and soon after the underfoot and underhand putrid carcass lunging for her throat.

Her gun lay uselessly at the foot of the grand stair.

"No! NO!!" Jill roared in rage and fear as she lay pinned under the monster.

Her struggles did nothing to throw the eager creature's hold. He had been a very large man in life, near 350 pounds of flesh and Jill herself was little more than 110 pounds and only human. She was all too aware of her fate locked in.

Angie was screaming and further down Olivera was grunting loudly with his struggle trying to free himself from Alice's grip locked onto the man's ankle.

The corpse's blackened mouth meet warm flesh--

And--

Did not bite down, the fat man suddenly going limp atop her body.

Her cheek speckled with blood provided some clue. A smoking hole mid-forehead of the crumpled body.

She hadn't even heard a gunshot.

Dragging herself from under the crushing weight of the body her eyes near leapt from her skull.

Slouching heavily against the shredded steel panel was Rain holding Jill's fallen 9mm. She was all blood, cuts and purpling bruises and madder than hell.

The second bio-weapon did not stop to check on L.J. who lay still only yards from her nor to offer a hand to Jill, there was something more urgent to be done.

An end table near the wrecked window collapsed under the weight of Olivera who had been tossed into it by Alice who's only physical change seemed a long knife wound to the cheek and a scowl growing with each thwarted attempt to kill the soldier.

Carlos Olivera did not rise this time, barely able to lift his head, slivers of glass clinging to the badly wounded man's stubbled cheek. He was fighting for breath and coughing unable to even to flip himself round to face Prospero.

The man was unbelievably resilient but there was only so much pummeling a human being could take and the evidence of it was the light spray of blood pouring from the man's mouth as he coughed.

Alice had not even noticed Rain coming therefore it was a complete surprise to find herself on the ground from the other superhuman's powerful jab to the back of the head. Alice recovered with a roundhouse kick to Rain's abdomen and the stumble gave Alice plenty of time to gain her footing and strike again.

Rain's head was reeling but more than pain she felt anger bubbling her blood and didn't hesitate to let it fuel her. She spat at the coppery taste in her mouth growling like an animal.

Holding back was not an option now, whatever had happened to Alice had left the woman a sadist killer, a weapon unwilling and possibly unable to stop without drastic measures. This time when Alice moved to land her fist into Rain she meet air and Rain catching her crazed comrade by the elbow used the failed action to flip the woman onto her back.

But Ocampo's foot barreled through marble leaving a deep foot-shaped hole where Alice had been a millisecond prior. There was a flash and Rain spun on it landing a fierce headbutt right where she intended. This time when Alice reeled Rain dealt her last hit, a sharp elbow to top of Alice's spine with all the strength she had left.

Alice fell still, breathing lightly.

Rain followed, but only allowed her knees to catch the floor, bracing an elbow out to catch herself and better catch sight of her own wounds.

A gaping laceration to her abdomen and a twin marking running down her left calf clean to bone, a hole and an odd ridging to her collarbone where a bullet was lodged. Her right arm seemed far away and cold. Despite the blood running from her wounds she was sure she would recover from these wounds that would have killed a human twice over.

Because even now very, very slowly she could feel she was _healing._

The loudest sound in the grand hall was Rain's shuddering breath and she blinked rapidly to clear the sweat on her lashes.

When Rain's vision cleared she met Jill's dumbfounded expression where she sagged, very bruised but otherwise looked okay, next to Olivera who could barely keep his eyes open. The man was going to need medical attention a.s.a.p. The young child remained untouched.

L.J. was still not conscious.

There were bodies everywhere and the blood…Rain was sure she'd never seen so much. She blinked again as everything around her grew fuzzy.

Not that seeing was going to be something she was doing for long…

Haze clearing she addressed Valentine. "Any--any broken bones?" When Jill turned to Olivera Rain clarified: "On you not him."

Jill shook her head quickly after pressing lightly on her swelling ankle. "No, no I think it's just a bad sprain. I'm fine."

It was doing it again. Her heart rate doubling as seconds ticked by and now Rain knew why. She could hear it now.

Rain nodded muzzily. "Good you can make yourself useful and close that window panel then."

Jill's eyes had fallen on L.J. and Rain grew impatient.

"Fucking _**move**_ lady, or you're not going to have to worry about your friend for long. There's more on the way. "

The cop went hobbling off towards the security code panel just as the shadows of the approaching dead climbed the walls. There was the familiar ticking of machinery as the steel window once more closed.

Cocking her head Rain listened past the chaotic roar of the pulses around her. Her ears honed in on the unhurried beat of a human heart in slumber. "He's breathing," Rain announced. "Your friend's got a concussion, he should be up and moving in a few hours time. Best leave him till then." She weakly gestured towards Carlos Olivera, "Because soldier-boy won't be fine if you don't patch him up soon."

Olivera could only groan in pain as Jill began lifting the man's shirt to find his more serious injuries. Angie looked on with tears in her wide blue eyes.

The child nearly jumped out of her skin when Jill touched her. She gave the girl a reassuring smile that barely reached her eyes. "Angie, I need a bowl with water, okay? Warm. And some towels. There's a first aid kit under the sink in the bathroom nearest the study, I need that too. Also, there's a sewing kit in the room Alice likes, you know which one right?"

Angie still looked on wide-eyed, frozen staring down at the mess of torn flesh that was Olivera who barely seemed to notice anything.

"Angie? Angie honey are you listening?" Jill tried gently.

"Is he going to die?" Angie whispered still staring.

Angela looked torn between crying and going into complete shock. He had liked this man who took care of her and doted on her and protected her.

She had always felt a lot safer with him beside her, now the only thing the young Ashford felt was fear and grief. Everything had happened so fast.

The child felt Jill's hands cupping her freckled cheeks and managing to draw her attention momentarily away from Olivera.

"He's always helped me," the girl whimpered near sobbing now.

Angie found herself wrapped in a motherly hug, the S.T.A.R.S. member making sure not the release pressure on the hole in Olivera's chest "I know. He's going to need you to help him now, so I need those things Angie. We have to stop the bleeding soon before it's too late. Understand?"

Angela nodded wiping her cheeks and standing.

"Go, run," Jill urged.

The small redhead had shot up the stairs.

While Jill was busy Rain herself had something to tend to even before herself.

Rain had giving up on standing and half-dragged, half-crawled herself towards where Alice lay folded over. Rolling the blonde over onto her back she found what she was looking for.

A knife wound sticky and severe at the back of Prospero's skull, thumbing gently at the tissue she meet a small ridge that was neither bone nor cartilage blanketed under the muscle tissue.

A chip!

Alice's blood was pouring from this head wound and other less serious facial cuts she herself had inflicted. Sometime before heading downstairs for Valentine she must have felt it and had clawed desperately all over before finally trying to cut the thing out of her skull.

It was doubtful Alice had known it there prior.

"What are you doing to her?" Jill asked.

"Fixing her," Rain answered shortly. She had clumsy pulled herself up to a kneel, her body swaying slightly with the effort to function.

"You can't, can you?"

Rain hadn't missed the tinge of hope in the woman's question. "She's been chipped, Unbrella thought ahead about insurance I guess."

Fishing an army knife from the boot heel of Prospero, Rain set about finishing the task Alice had been unable to.

Jill was tearing away a strip of her t-shirt, awkward in only able to use the one free hand, she stuffed it into Olivera's chest wound, Olivera shifted with a hiss of pain.

"Careful, you could hit spinal column with that thing."

Adjusting her grip on the blade Rain didn't pause. "Somehow not too worried about that, something tells me it doesn't the way it does if I cut one of you open," she added sourly. "She's already healing. And I will to when you finish playing nursemaid and go fishing for mine."

It had vaguely occurred to Jill that Rain too was likely carrying an implant as well and she was thankful to whatever gods were smiling down on her that Rain had volunteered herself before Jill had chance to suggest it.

"You knew. You knew Alice lost it before we did, it was like you sensed it?"

Rain glowered openly at the stupefied woman before remarking dryly, "yeah I guess I did. Must have somehow forgot about mentioned my spider sense was tingling."

Jill didn't answer, it didn't matter anyway as Angie had returned with everything they'd need.

Forgetting for the time being the others and carving slowly round surrounding tissue Rain now had a clear view of the offending chip. No larger than a pinky nail and capable of so much destruction.

Rain managed a triumphant smirk, the chip gleaming back at her.

_Gotcha._

"And there's my toy surprise," she mused.

* * *

And there you have it! Hope it was good for you guys I'm still getting the kinks out of these rusty writing skills, bear with me! And as always feel free to review!!


	12. The Subjects

**Thank you for new reviews and support I nearly abandoned this story after a plagerism of it. After some soul searching and ideas that wouldn't leave me I've decided to finish this as well as 'The Difference' so hold your horses more on that one soon!**

**-Vixenvampirechick**

**

* * *

**

**Umbrella Research Facility**

**British Columbia, Canada**

**Sublevel 6**

**8: 42 pm**

It was strange, he thought.

Here is was approaching 9 p.m. and still nothing. The computer screen continued to stare back at the doctor, unchanging besides the large digital clock in the computer's left hand corner. A red pixel fixed in the northeast corner of the Arklay Mountains and another yellow pinpointed in the exact same location, both blinking dully but unmoving from their present location.

The red determined Project Alice's location and the yellow being Rain's, as theorized Rain had moved east days before, finding her sister program without much difficulty. And now both had not moved for sometime even after the Project Alice's activation that afternoon.

Some hours ago.

Sighing with wrinkled forehead catching each blink of the screen Doctor Issaacs noted the time.

8:48 p.m.

He didn't understand. Project Alice's orders were very clear, kill the survivors she traveled with, retrieve the Ashford child, disable Ocampo and recover her.

The blinking red pixel blinked one last time then disappeared leaving only Rain's location visible.

_Interesting…_

He sat up in his chair slowly at that. With a few quick clicks of the keyboard another screen appeared.

_**Program Alice- Not found.**_

Either Alice had been killed or her chip had been rendered disabled, the latter being more likely. But who was capable of getting close enough?

Unless…Ocampo had made a nuisance of herself against her core programming.

Well, it had been a risk activating Alice and knowing Ocampo's primary programming had not been completed before her escape she would not be coming quietly.

Still he had almost been certain Program Alice would have no large amount of trouble with Rain Ocampo. After all, Program Alice had nearly stabilized from her genetic anomalies, they were no longer foreign entities to her blood and upon activating her programming she should have been running as a well-oiled machine and Ocampo, at this stage anyhow, more erratic, unless Rain's metabolic rate has doubled under the effects of her virus.

Not likely but possible. Data gathered from many of the test subjects hadn't always been wholly conclusive…

Like nine weeks ago when exactly what was needed for their new program was discovered entirely on accident…

The bird-eating spider for instance, in the first week of testing their altered virus strains it had simply sagged to the bottom of its glass tank, all eight hairy appendages sliding for purchase under its comatose body. It hovered there between life and death for days. But the second week was different, the spider had still lay comatose but had grown to the size of a bulldog in the tank and the injection now had to be a gas state of the virus as they soon found opening the tank was no longer possible. A routine morning injection by one of the staff had gone terribly bad and ended with fourteen dead before the lab was locked down and the arachnid caught.

He cared not for the dead, none of those lost being particularly of importance to the research nor irreplaceable as a simple pair of hands in the labs. Still the circumstances of the incident did peak his curiosity.

He'd been working in the lower levels checking in on subject Neptune when it had happened and by the time it was over there was only one worker who has seen the whole thing. An anesthesiologist, a specialist in genetic research who had done her share of travel as she'd developed an odd English/French accent, Mrs. Martinell, had illustrated in that babbling, panic-stricken stupid way-

` "T'ought 'e was dead, Mr. Garrett t'ought 'e was dead. Jus', jus' layin' dere. Mr. Garrett shook dat glass real 'ard and he didn't move. 'E t'ought it was safe an' open da tank and da t'ing jumped, dat spider put 'is fangs right in 'is eyes. 'E was screamin' and gurglin' somet'in terrible and it was foamin' from dem fangs. Playin' dead sir, playin dead I swear 'e was _waitin_', _**waiting **_ta catch us off da guard! Swear 'e-"

With bored indifference he silenced her with a wave of his hand. "Then what happened?"

"Da t'ing hissed an' charged right at Marjorie Ward buried 'is fangs right in 'er head, I- I," she blubbered, fleshy jowls trembling, "'eard her skull crunch sir and da sound…terrible…she was makin' dis awful choking' gurgle…"

"_**Auto-lock security successful. Subject Jumper contained in level 4, tank 12," **_the security loudspeaker announced.

"Excellent," the doctor responded to no one in particular.

He had excused the woman after demanding she get ahold of herself. It was only hours after that incident that the arachnid has grown the size of a bear, webbing around the reinforced tank enclosure for a while until it had formed one large enough to hold its severe weight.

But the most useful information they gathered from simple observation, watching those long coarse appendages tapping its webbing in some bizarre sort of morse code day in and day out had been far from pointless.

The jumper was spending a large portion of its day testing inch by inch of its glass prison for even the most minute flaw, all eyes fixed on its captures with a look of hunger and beyond that absolute intelligence, sometimes for hours it stared.

Disturbing…

The subject was terminated only hours later.

Thanks to gas radiation they were still able to continue their studies upclose on the corpse. Once exposed, as expected, the flesh of the arachnid drew in the cloud of chemicals much like a sponge, with a flash of fanged appendages the creature shuddered before all eight legs fell from under the beast and it was still.

The creature's body taken apart and studied piece by piece gave them all an even better understanding of how the viruses progressed with creatures possessing even less complex genetic structures than mammalian creatures.

Once sanitation was underway there was another mystery of the creature that had been left behind to be discovered. A thick mass of webbing that appeared somewhat comically like a ball of gray yarn clouding the tank's upper corner, spanning an impressive 14 feet wide.

"What is it?"

The question had come from a confused lab sanitation worker.

The mass was prodded gently by a research assistant. A promising woman, Lillian Karl, perhaps the best of the research assistants. Eager to learn, happy to follow orders she answered: "An egg sac. Or what very well would have been one."

"Dead young?"

The masked assistant shook her head taking care to split the sac gingerly. "No. No young at all, I don't know how she could have considering lack of breeding partner." She stood addressing Dr. Issaacs directly now. "It's strange sir, we had previously concluded with this virus subjects find all needs nonexistent besides feeding in all infected subjects. All but this one."

Addressing his files the doctor made a few notes before inquiring, "remind me Ms. Karl, what particular strain had I authorized for use on Subject Jumper."

_NOW EMPLOYING OXYGEN. _

There was a low hiss of air and a series of clicks before the computer's intercom sweetly responded:

_OXYGEN LEVELS AT %100._

All employees followed suit in removing their helmets at the security systems prompt.

The woman blinked, forehead furrowed in an effort to recall before turning to her own data. "Strain 337-GT6. Doctor Birkin's sample sir."

"G type," the doctor recalled. He smiled widely before circling the confirmed data on his clipboard. "Perfect." He then handed off the clipboard to a nearly lab assistant. "I want this taken down to sublevel 6 for Doctor Stevenson, he is to check for confirmation of my notations and prep Subject Jumper for tissue extraction."

The assistant nodded stiffly before hurrying from the room.

"Get me one of the canines, subject Hunter T8 and subject R6 Neptune and prep for viral infusion of strain number 337-GT6 to all of them. We will be starting new trials in six hours."

The trials hadn't taken long and before Isaacs knew it, he was looking at the key to it all.

8:57 p.m.

The doctor closed out the map, opening a file of status reports on the equipment and subjects recovered from the Arklay facility.

Subject 2, ARRIVED.

Subject 4, ARRIVED.

Subject 5, ARRIVED.

Subject 10...

The screen blinked uncertainly and Isaacs frowned but waited.

ARRIVED.

"Perfect."

**Prospero Mansion…**

**9:00 pm.**

Jill let out a long breath before adjusting the blade in her hand. "Okay I see it," she announced, "almost…"

Rain winced trying her best to breath through her nose, the warm blood sliding from her head wound oddly comforting on her neck, skin dangerously cold due in large part to blood loss.

A paralyzing stab of pain shot through her spine and Rain bit her tongue to avoid screaming. It was a good thing she was kneeling, she was pretty sure standing was going to be nearly impossible at this point.

Ignoring the steady waves of pain Rain managed a glance round the room.

LJ had come round nearly ten minutes ago and Carlos's wounds while serious were not dire, he would be fine with time and rest. Broken ribs would mend and gaping chest wounds, thanks to stitches, would close. Oliveira was resting now somewhat comfortably thanks to Alice's medical supply kit that seemed without a shortage of drugs.

A good thing too because the ex-Umbrella mercenary did not go under easily.

Alice had still not gained consciousness after her brief homicidal episode however Rain didn't worry, Alice's consciousness was a quiet hum within Rain's own mind.

If she tried hard enough even the kid seemed to be ghosting around in there. Rabbiting around making a mess of nerves shot to hell already.

It was a strange sensation she was learning to hone in on despite how disturbing. Feeling like there was a constant whispering in one's head could make anyone absolutely fucking bananas.

Didn't matter though, she'd take being nuts over being dead any day.

If Umbrella wasn't so ungodly evil she'd consider writing them a thank you card. Well after killing them horribly for the nightmares she was sure she'd be having every night of her new freakish existence.

_Yup Ocampo, you are fuckin' bananas._

Alice had mused on the sensation when Rain had first arrived, "_You called out to me and I heard you, sometimes I can even hear Angie. We're somehow linked."_

Being "linked" didn't mean anything to Prospero though, when Rain managed to waken the morning after chains still greeted her. So much for their "link" being a flimsy bond of sisterhood, trust, understanding and all that other bullshit…

She understood now why she'd been chained.

Prospero wasn't a fool.

Umbrella always had a back up plan and who's to say it wasn't going to be her new sister program dragging Prospero's defiant little ass back to Umbrella for more cutting and pasting. Shock-factor was always a good Trojan Horse. Best to keep all 'newly resurrected friends' detained just in case.

Alice had every right not to trust her, it would make absolute sense, however she was certain of only that she herself hadn't been activated at all but rather Alice.

It didn't make sense to Rain.

"Got it."

The ex-officer's hands were sticky with blood but she looked pretty pleased with herself holding the sticky red chip in between thumb and forefinger. "Dandy," Rain mumbled.

Without being prompted Jill helped the barely conscious woman to a sitting position and Rain's stomach lurched.

Jill too felt the familiar sensation of her stomach wanting to empty itself, she hadn't recalled ever seeing so much of someone's insides without watching some fake splatter movie.

And Rain sure seemed to be having a time of it, gasping like a woman in labor while extremely drunk as her coordination seemed null and void as well.

"Let's get you patched up then," Jill said.

Rain shook her head dismissing the cop. "Leave it, something tells me Prospero and I are beyond stitches here." Hiking up her scrap of a shirt she looked down to see her muscle tissues no longer seemed so purple, the flesh was pinking up, already looking less flayed.

Didn't mean passing out didn't still sound like the best plan ever to Rain.

Damn she was so tired.

Ex-cop looked impressed and, well, horrified.

Rain almost smiled, but her mouth only managed a haughty little smirk before she slumped to the floor and passed out.

**Umbrella Laboratory…**

**Sublevel 6**

**British Columbia, Canada**

**12:47 p.m.**

Moving the lab up north was a pain in the ass mostly because it left room for a lot of equipment to be broken, equipment that wasn't already broken or incinerated beyond repair by Rain Ocampo's tantrum.

It had took a bit less than 3 hours for the lower levels labs to be customized to suit the needs of Samuel Isaacs experiments and the doctor was pleased.

Cryogenic sleep could be maintained for weeks on end at near sub-zero temperatures by each chamber's own self-maintained core, but monitoring brain activity and vital signs was a bit more difficult without the computer linked to supply status updates. And with no computers equipped to provide IV feeding and regular intervals of the virus the subjects would be no more able to survive than a baby in it's mother's womb void of an umbilical cord. Growing weaker without nourishment and unstable without a full treatment of the virus and human dna.

Manual observation, that is, getting 'up close and personal' with any of the experiments at this point in time was a no go. Flushing the tanks could rouse the subjects awake before they were completely developed sending them into shock, coma or even brain death of the unrecoverable kind. They were too much of an investment for something so foolish to happen, what with all the money spent already and less than half were proving to be unsuccessful.

Of the ten hand picked subjects so far only Rain Ocampo's body seemed to respond right away to the strain.

No major movement or outside change was to be expected for at least several days however it only took a solid 2 hours before anyone with eyes could see for themselves the virus going to work on the unsightly remains.

All discomposed dead flesh had purpled then pinked with each injection of the new virus, black blood jellied inside the woman's corpse warmed with a touch of strain 337 and grew nearly hot inside revived capillaries and arteries running to the red, red trembling, fluttering and finally _**beating**_ heart.

Small but lethal fingers twitching as the final wound, the mangled flesh between a thumb and forefinger, knitted itself closed.

Within 46 hours the decaying corpse of Rain Ocampo was a living body with the only reminder of its previous state a few bite marks that refused to completely fade away.

Samual Isaacs himself wasn't quite sure he believed it either. A carrier already in a permanent state of mutation and what's more, death after infection, was coming back to life before his own eyes.

Neurons were working, nearly violent in their development and REM sleep could easily be observed by the flutter of eyelids and twitching limbs.

There were four now, the other five turning out to be failures. Of the five discarded, subjects 3, 6 and 7 lacked any response to the virus and two others, 1 and 8 made a clear recovery in cellular regeneration in all areas except the brain, they too were deemed useless and incinerated. Now it looked as though very soon two others would be strong enough to live like their sister.

"Medical reports indicate subject 4 has reached full reflex response. Computer's reports suggest optimal time to take subject 4 off support system in 216 hours."

"And subject 10? Progress and secondary notes?"

Ms. Karls sighed, frowning, "still a bit slow for muscle and skeletal repair but progressing nonetheless, seems to support your speculation of male specimens bonding to the virus being a shot in the dark. The difficulty seems to be in bonding to androgen receptors and plasma proteins, conclusive in trials of canine intact males. However, synthesis of the virus in the blood stream of those who are AB negative, subject 10 for example, when introduced into white blood cells will cause rapid cellular mutation, the mutation gradually bonding with androgen receptors. I suspect within the week subject 10 will be ready to leave cryo."

Isaacs chuckled, in a genuinely good spirits even praised: "Excellent work Ms. Karls as always."

His young research assistant beamed before returning to her lab reports, lingering close to be at the ready for anything else.

Removing his lab coat the doctor stopped for a moment at their subject's chamber, it stood in the farthest corner of the lab where the light was dimmer, the subject seemed to respond better to low light levels.

The human male within it was noticeably more active in reflex, the body seemed almost restless in sleep, eager to escape its frigid womb.

"Not long now," the doctor whispered in false reassurance, "You'll wake and then…she'll come. They'll all come." He'd have to hurry, Ocampo and Prospero were going to need secure state of the art cells within the week.

The rest? Well he was certain some of the experiments would appreciate a fresh meat treat.


End file.
